Strawberry Of Love
by SasuNaruforeva
Summary: Ichigo, a single gay teen, is "trapped" in a mansion by Rukia and the other girls with a bunch of hot guys and is forced to be the Bachlorette for their silly love game. Yaoi, smut, OOC and all that great stuff ! Idea taken from 'Daisy of love'...
1. Prologue: Devious Women's plan

**))*Author's note*((:** Okay you guys! This story is going to be similar to those shows on TV like 'Daisy of Love' and 'Rock of love' and stuff like that. I'd like to make a special thanks to 'myinukoi', the author of 'The Ukette', because her story was my inspiration for this. I'd also like to say that in a few more chapters You, my precious readers, _must_ vote on the People who will get elliminated from the story/game. (If you've watched the shows that i mentioned then you'll understand why.)

P.S. I also kinda need a Beta... so if you're interested then please E-Mail me!!

Much love!

**))*Warning*((:** Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

~YOU'VE BEEN WARNED~

**(())*LE BACHELORETTE*(())**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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**_++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++_**

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_~~Prologue: Devious women's plan ~~_

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Ichigo was really starting to regret telling his friends that he was gay. Yes, it felt great to come out of the closet, but he didn't exactly expect the reaction that he got from everyone. He originally thought that maybe the girls would cry and all the guys would avoid him, but it was the exact **opposite**! Of course Nel was a little heartbroken at first, but now… she's just as bad as Rukia and Matsumoto! Who knew that all the girls were actually Yaoi fans? Ichigo sure as hell didn't know, and he was starting to REALLY regret telling everyone, because now all the girls were trying to pair him up with every guy he knew. It got to the point where they actually locked him and Renji in a closet and they wouldn't let them out until they kissed. That was a little awkward to say the least.

So to say Ichigo was scared when Rukia told him to meet her at this huge Mansion would be an understatement. He glared suspiciously over at the few girls that stood in front of the garden that led to front door to said Mansion.

Matsumoto, Yuroichi, Soi Fon, Yachiru, and Halibel.

They all had those mischievous grins on their faces that screamed 'you're in for it now~!' The carrot-top had to force himself to not run away at that exact moment, and even if he wanted to just turn and bolt, Rukia was behind him and pushing him towards the other girls. So there was no escaping.

"Itsugo!! Welcome!" Nel squealed and clung to his leg, but he just ignored the little girl in order to keep an eye on the other girls.

"So… Why exactly am I here?" He asked, fully aware of those grins that got even bigger (if possible).

Yoruichi was the first to let the grin drop and step forward. She folded her arms in front of her and said, "We've all pitched in and rented this Mansion for a few weeks."

Ichigo didn't really know how to react to that. So he settled for scowling and saying, "And what does this have to do with me?" This time Motsumoto stepped forward and threw her arms out gleefully before starting her little announcement.

"Well this mansion is going to be where we hold or little game of Bachelorette, and _you_, our dear strawberry, will be the bachelorette and we have already sent out invitations to many different Bachelors to come here and win your heart. It'll be just like those reality shows like 'Rock of love' and 'Daisy of love'!" Mastumoto giggled and clapped her hands together.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he opened his mouth in order to shout, complain, whine, scream, _**anything!**_ But nothing would come out. He just gawked at the girls, begging them with his eyes that this was some joke! He really didn't want to go through with this, and he highly doubted many people would even participate in this. So it HAD to be a joke!!

Oh how wrong he was though…

Once he got his voice back after a while, he started seething.

"And what makes you think I'm going to play along with this!?" He yelled while pulling at his orange locks a little.

Rukia smirked and held up an envelope.

"Well if you don't then I'll happily give out these pictures of you in a dress to everyone." She snickered.

Ichigo should've known he'd get sucked into something stupid like this...

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R&R!

_Or no more chapters for youuuuuu~~_

_Ichigo: "Quit taunting the readers... you'll just make them agry..."_

_Me: "but but but but... how else am i supposed to make them review!?"_

_Grimmyjow: "Promise them a bunch of yaoi smut?"_

_Me: "well I guess that woud work..."_

_Renji + Grimmy: -high fives-_

_Ichigo: -panics-_


	2. Ch1: The Bachelors

**))*Author's note*((:** OKAY YOU GUYSS~! Here's the next chapter! Please enjoy~ Oh! I'd also like to remind you guys that you guys are allowed to start voting on the People who will get eliminated from the story/game as soon as you feel like it, but remember- you only get one vote per elimination! And thank you for all the reviews and comments!!

_P.S._ I also still kinda need a Beta... so if you're interested then please E-Mail/comment me!!

Much much love!

**))*Warning*((:** Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**(())*****LE BACHELORETTE*****(())**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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**__****_++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++_**

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_~~ CHAPTER 1: The Bachelors ~~_

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Ichigo paced back and forth in his new room. It was the same room that happened to be in the stupid mansion, and that same mansion where he was going to play this stupid game for his Yaoi loving friends. He'd been pacing for what seemed like hours!

After talking with Matsumoto and the others he was sent into this room to wait, and at first Ichigo didn't mind just sitting on the comfy bed and looking at the glamorous room that was on the third story, but it got boring after a while. And he was starting to get antsy. He didn't know how this stupid game was supposed to be played, because he'd never actually watched those _Stupid_ shows like 'Daisy of Love'. He knew that his obnoxious father would watch it with his sisters, and he remembered them yelling about some guy named 'London', but other than that he had NO clue what was going on.

Ichigo was about ready to kick down the door and run for it, not caring anymore about those humiliating pictures of him in a dress, but just as he got close enough to the door it swung open, smashing him in the face!

The orange-head stumbled back and yelped in pain as he began rubbing at his sore nose, then he glared towards the person who just walked in.

Orihime Inoue and Rukia Kuchiki.

He should've known that devil woman would get poor Inoue to be a part of this too!

"What the hell Orihime?!" the strawberry shouted and placed his fists on his hips in aggravation. The petite girl stuttered and flailed her arms about.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun! Are you okay!? I didn't mean to hurt you with the door!! Do you need me to heal you?" She squeaked as she walked towards Ichigo, but the taller teen just sighed and waved his hands as if to say: I'm okay.

"That wasn't what I was yelling for but never mind. Anyway. So what the hell am I supposed to be doing exactly?" Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head lazily.

Rukia elbowed him playfully in the ribs before looking up at him with a devious grin.

"Oh. You don't really do anything. The girls have already decided the challenges that the Bachelors will have to go through. All you have to do is let them try to woo you and get to know them better, and you have to choose 2 people to be eliminated from the game each day. The last person who's left is the person who you'll live happily ever after with!" Rukia explained and clapped her hands together once while letting out a dreamy sigh.

Ichigo growled stubbornly and bopped her on the head, snapping her out of her daydreaming.

"And what makes you think I'll like any of the guys that you all chose!?"

Rukia pretended to be in deep thought before punching him in the gut, hard. Ichigo fell to his knees and groaned in pain.

"Okay.. I get it…" He wheezed out before picking himself back up. Inoue began fussing over him again but he just shrugged off the attention politely.

"Now..." Rukia started, getting Ichigo's attention, "I want you to go through these papers. They're the sheets that we gave to the Bachelors to fill in. These are the men that will be trying to win your heart, Ichigo. So just go through them. We'll be back in about an hour to bring you down to meet them. But before we come back in, I want you to be dressed in something less casual. There's an outfit for you in the closet over there." Rukia finished and began pulling Orihime out of the room before Ichigo had time to ask anything. Ichigo flinched when the door was slammed shut and he heard the unmistakable sound of it being locked.

She really is a devil woman….

Ichigo shrugged and then looked down at the papers in his hands. He really didn't want to look through them… it was like reading his fate! But it was hopeless and he thought that he might as well read them so he's not surprised later on.

"Okay, so let's see here… the first guy is Renji Abarai… Why am I not surprised?" Ichigo sighed.

_**Name: **Renji Abarai_**  
**_**Occupation: **Shinigami, lieutenant of the 6th division _

_**Are you currently seeing anyone?: **Nope_

_**Do you scare easily under pressure?: **uh… Not really._

_**Do you have problems with sleeping in a room with someone you don't know?: **As long as they keep their hands to themselves then I'm fine._

_**Are you Allergic to anything?**: Bananas_

_**Sign here if you agree to take full ****responsibility for anything you break or ruin…**_

"Smooth, Renji." Ichigo chuckled, but his laugh cut short as he eyed the next name.

_**Name: **Grimmjow Jaegerjaques_

"What the fuck!?" Ichigo shouted while staring dumbly at the name. Ichigo knew he should've been expecting the guy to be apart of this, but it was still a little shocking. He growled a little before continuing to read.

_**Occupation: **Sexta Espada_

_**Are you currently seeing anyone?: **Hell no_

_**Do you scare easily under pressure?: **Is that supposed to be a joke.._

_**Do you have problems with sleeping in a room with someone you don't know?**: I guess not, I'll just rip out their throat if they try anything funny._

_**Are you Allergic to anything?**: Dogs_

_**Sign here if—…**._

Ichigo shook his head and grumbled before reading the next page.

_**Name: **Byakuya Kuchiki_

_**Occupation:** Shinigami, Captain of the 6th division_

_**Are you currently seeing anyone?**: No_

_**Do you scare easily under pressure?**: No_

_**Do you have problems with sleeping in a room with someone you don't know?**: No_

_**Are you Allergic to anything?**: No._

_**Sign here if—**…_

Ichigo felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Byakuya is in this!? Has the world gone MAD!? Ichigo just shook his head of any though and continued to the next page in order to try and forget the fact that the Devil woman's brother had a crush on him…

_**Name:** Kenpachi Zaraki_

WOAH!

Ichigo stopped himself from reading any further and blinked several times to make sure he was seeing correctly.

"Yeahhhhh… I think I should stop reading these now…" Ichigo whispered to himself and proceeded to crumble up the papers into a neat ball and tossed it out the window.

Ichigo's body shivered in slight repulsion, but he shook those thoughts away. To help get his mind off of the others Ichigo walked to the closet that Rukia had pointed out earlier and decided to see what he had to wear now.

As soon as he opened the closet door his scowl darkened dramatically.

"You have _**got**_ to be kidding me…."

* * *

R&R

mY loVeLy DucKLiNgs~~

(:{

TEEHEEHEE

Ichigo: "Why did you have to stop it there!? You know that's probably considered cruel and unusual punishment!"

Me: .___.;;

Grimmjow: "Well atleast she actually updated..."

Me: "Why do I get the feeling that you guys have no faith in me????"

Ichigo + Grimm: "Becuase we Don't!"


	3. Ch2: MEETING the Bachelores

**~~*Author's Note*~~**: Thanks you guys for the LOVELY comments and reviews! they all make me so happy! And you know that a happy Author means faster updates :D muahahaha~

**~~*Warning*~~**: Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**~~~*LE BACHELORETTE*~~~**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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**_++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++_**

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_~~Chapter 2: MEETING The Bachelors...~~_

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"**Lemme at 'im**!! I'm gonna tear his fuckin' throat out!! Let me _go_!!" A very enraged man yelled while being held back by two people. Yes, _two _people. That's how enraged said man is.

Why is he angry, you ask?

Well let's just say that after waiting for Ichigo in a damn ballroom-looking-place for an hour with a bunch of guys who were also waiting for the teen… _well_… you start to loose your patience.

He would've been fine with just waiting for Ichigo, he'd wait for the boy for as long it would take (It's not like he had anything better to do with his time…), but the other assholes kept yapping their damn mouths off about how they were going to be the ones to win the teen over first, and it was starting to _piss_ **him** _**off!**_!

He hadn't actually snapped and became bloodthirsty until that bald guy began making lewd comments about his berry's ass. There was only so much he could take!!

"Grimmjow, calm down!" Some shinigami with long red hair said while keeping his death grip on Grimmjow's right arm. The espada glared towards the redhead who spoke and growled in an animalistic.

"Yeah, let him go Renji! The pretty kitty wants a fight, so I'll give it to him!" That bald guy chortled with this perverse smirk on his face.

Grimmjow snapped his attention back towards the asshole and began struggling even harder, hissing and snarling all the while.

The other shinigami that was holding the man back sighed loudly.

"You shouldn't provoke him like that, Ikkaku. I know you're getting bored, but honestly, try to keep yourself under control."

The bald guy, now known as Ikkaku, looked down at the smaller, whit haired man who was gripping Grimmjow's left arm, but both he and Renji were starting to have trouble with holding him back. Ikkaku just grunted and started walking away, not wanting to upset the small captain. Once he settled himself down at the other side of the large room, the angered espada began to calm down, if only a little.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and pulled down on the blue-haired man's arm roughly, making him sit back down in his seat. The two shinigami sat down in their own seats on either side of the seething arrancar.

After a little while though, Renji started to get bored, thus deciding to look around at the other people in the room.

He saw the two humans, Chad and the Quincy kid at a corner of the room chatting calmly. Ishida would push up his glasses occasionally before talking again and that other weird blonde dude named Shinji would start talking animatedly.

Boooringg_gggg_…

Renji then noticed Byakuya leaning against a wall, away from everyone else. He just stood there looking all cool and stud-ly and mysterious. That irked the redhead. Just how the hell was he supposed to compete with someone like _that_!!? He sighed in irritation before looking away, only to see Kenpachi and Ikkaku arguing about one thing or another.

Nothing new _there_…

Renji shrugged and began looking around the room again for the others. It took him a second but he spotted the mod soul, Nova and that other espada- Stark was his name? But they were just sitting on the bottom step of the many, _many _stairs and not doing anything, well actually Stark was splayed out on the stairway, fast asleep.

BORING!

He began tapping his foot impatiently and ran his fingers through his long red hair.

Tap.

_Tap._

_**Tap.**_

"Quit tappin' your damn foot 'fore I chop it off. Fuckin' annoying…" Grimmjow grumbled next to him.

Renji was about ready to retort angrily but stopped when he heard someone walking down the stairs. Both guys looked up and spotted Rukia and Orihime making their way towards everyone, but they were disappointed to see that there was no Ichigo following them. The redhead stood up slowly from his seat, his gaze still locked on the two girls.

"Soooo? Where's Ichigo?" Renji asked loudly, getting almost everyone's attention (Except for Stark, who was still asleep, and Kenpachi and Ikkaku, who were still yelling at each other.). Rukia rolled her eyes and glared playfully at the other Shinigami.

"He'll be down fairly soon. I'm going to go back and bring him down once everyone else gets here." Rukia announced as she and Inoue walked off the last step. Renji nodded and sat back down, sighing loudly.

"Well, they betta hurry th' fuck up, I'm startin' to get impatient!" Grimmjow growled while tilting his head back and looking towards the high ceiling, making cerulean strands of hair brush against his face.

"You're not the only one getting impatient, dumbass." Renji hissed, making the other glare hotly at him.

"Wanna say tha' to my face ya bitch?" Grimmjow hissed back and drew his face closer to the other's in order to stare him down threateningly. Renji only lifted his fist, ready to punch that smirking face but stopped dead when Hitsugaya spoke.

"Renji, lower your hand."

The redhead did as he was told and settled for getting up and walking towards Ikkaku. Maybe he could take his anger out on the cueball. Grimmjow watched with a smirk as the shinigami kicked the bald guy in the back, making him fall on his face. Even though he wasn't the one that did it, Grimmjow felt satisfied that the baldy finally got what was coming to him.

Grimmjow's smirk dropped immediately though when a certain presence engulfed the room. Said presence was right behind him and it made everyone look up and freeze (but Stark only stirred for a moment, still not waking up, and Orihime ducked behind Rukia in fear). The blue haired espada slowly turned his head and looked up, only to see Sousuke Aizen in all his epic glory.

"The fuck're ya doin' here?" He said quietly, not wanting to raise his voice and be disrespectful to the dangerous man, he would only end up getting the life sucked out of him if he did that. Grimmjow might be a little arrogant and short-tempered, but he wasn't _stupid_!

"It would seem that I'm here for the same reason that everyone else is." He said in that, I'm holier than thou, tone and he made it seem like that was the most obvious thing in the world. Grimmjow mentally counted to ten to calm himself down as he looked away from the man.

"Did we send you an invitation to this?" Rukia asked, obviously lost, as she scratched her head in thought. Aizen looked towards her and smiled politely (Gag, hack, cough, snort!).

"No, you didn't. But I found Grimmjow's invitation before he sent it off, and I thought it would be fun to be a part of this as well." He said and was about to sit down in the seat next to Grimmjow (Just to piss the bluenette off) but he froze and raised an eyebrow towards the doorway, which only meant that someone was about to walk in. Their attention snapped towards the door when it was kicked open, revealing the new comer.

Ishida and Grimmjow almost fell out of their seats dramatically when they spotted the guy, and even Byakuya's expression faltered. Everyone else just stared curiously (except stark).

"Well damn. This party sucks! Where's the music and food?!" The newcomer drawled, his voice traveling through the quiet room easily. White arms crossed over his chest and piercing golden eyes examined everyone in a calculating way. The only answer he got was complete silence, but he just shrugged it off and decided to break the silence by saying, "The name's Shirosaki. Remember the name, because you'll be crying it when you see I'm the one who walks away with Ichigo. Got that!?" The guy… _thing_… declared while smirking, revealing pearly whites.

Grimmjow, Renji and Ikkaku growled and all three of them were in front of the albino in an instant, towering over him, but Shiro didn't seem to notice or _care_.

"Ichigo wouldn't fall in love with a stupid hollow!" Renji snarled and Ikkaku nodded in agreement while crossing his arms over his chest, but Shiro was still ignoring them.

Grimmjow promptly ignored the redhead's comment, since he was part hollow, and instead gripped the front of Shiro's shirt and lifted him off the ground while glaring, his deep blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yeah, wha' makes you think tha' Berry would wan' some scumbag weaklin' like you?" He growled in the other's face, but Shiro just blinked at him innocently.

Next thing they knew all three of them were on their backs, _painfully_, and Shiro was looking down at them with a smug look on his pale face.

"Because I said so, dipshit." He said with a laugh before walking further into the room to go annoy someone else, leaving the three on the ground, stunned.

"Damn fucker…" Ikkaku sneered as he sat up, his back aching in protest.

"Ya got that right!" Grimmjow roared in agreement, his temper at its boiling point, but every bit of his pent up anger was washed away completely at the next words that were announced.

"Okay! Now that everyone is here, I'm going to go fetch Ichigo." Rukia said with a smile before Shunpo-ing up the stairs and to the 'Bachelorette's' room.

"It's about time!" Renji said with this big stupid grin on his face. Grimmjow frowned at the guy's reaction. He then decided to take his foot and kick Renji in the face, making him fall back to he ground, before going to stand near the stairs to wait for Ichigo. Renji hissed in pain and sat back up quickly.

"The fuck was _that_ for!?" He snarled as he got back up. Grimmjow just shrugged while Ikkaku and Shiro were laughing at Renji's pain.

"Just needed somethin' hurt, and ya just happened to be sittin' there…" Grimmjow said with a smirk.

"Why you s—" Renji began but stopped abruptly when he spotted Rukia at the top of the stairway, and standing next to her was the object of everyone's affection. Renji felt a blush rise to his cheeks hen he saw what Ichigo was wearing.

Grimmjow and Shiro both smirked and leered openly at the same time.

Ichigo Kurosaki was wearing a light tank top that covered his torso snugly, practically revealing his flat stomach and chest and on the shirt was a picture of a cute strawberry. A dark jean skirt hugged his hips nicely; the bottom of it just barely grazed his mid thigh. Renji's eyes continued there way down to see that Ichigo was sporting red stockings and long high heeled black boots. The teen was blushing heavily and awkwardly pulling on the skirt to try and cover some more of his long legs, but failing miserably.

All in all, Ichigo looked pretty fuckable!

Renji heard Kenpachi chuckle behind him when Grimmjow and Shiro started wolf whistling and making catcalls up at the teen, making him blush even more. The redhead took pity on the poor berry and helped him out by smashing Grimm and Shiro's heads together; their temples connecting harshly and they fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

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R&R!!

HEH HEH~

hope you guys enjoyed this

= w=~

I know I did!

a lot of them may be OOC, but i dun CARE!

hahaha

but I do like how I did Shiro

KUKUKU~

and i also kinda liked how Renji was always being interupted and how Grimmjow has bad grammmarrrrrr

xD

_Grimmjow:_ I just noticed that i have such a foul mouth....... -laughs hysterically-

_Me_: You're not supposed to be laughing at that! what if the kids pick up your stupid habit??

Grimmjow: I'm sorry... -isn't guilty whatsoever-

_Me_: -rolls eyes-

but anyway

so you guys know who the bachelores are and you can now officially start voting!!

LOVE YOU MY DUCKLINGS~!! 3


	4. Ch3prt1: A Heart to Heart

**~~*Author's Note*~~**: Muahahah! I have updated! I'm surprised I did update so soon... Well yeah anyway- I made this Chapter pretty long, like you guys wanted. and This is only PART 1!! haha! ENJOY MY DUCKLINGSSS~! :heart:

**~~*Warning*~~**: Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**~~~*LE BACHELORETTE*~~~**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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**_++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++_**

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_~~ CHAPTER 3: A Heart to… Heart [**PART 1**] ~~_

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Ichigo drummed his nails against the smooth table top that he sat in front of. He was waiting in another random room… AGAIN. He was getting really sick of waiting around and he didn't really get the chance to see everyone that was in the living room area before he was pushed in here by Rukia. Though he could've sworn he saw Grimmjow's blue hair and some white dude, who looked _really_ familiar, whistling at him, but he didn't get a good look. Well anyway, Rukia said something about meeting each Bachelor separately, and that only served to make him even more nervous.

Ichigo began fidgeting restless in his seat and he absently tugged on the skirt he was wearing. He didn't know how girls wore these stupid things! They were just way too… revealing… Ichigo shivered and glared down at his clothes. Rukia had too much power over him!

The berry suddenly jumped when a voice spoke into his ear and he cursed himself for not sensing the person coming up behind him.

"Hey there, Ichi." The man greeted. Ichigo turned and saw that Renji was the culprit that snuck up on him and Rukia was standing by the closed door. He nodded in greeting to them, his usual scowl in place.

"Okay… so what exactly are we supposed to do?" Ichigo grumbled and glared towards Rukia, who merely smiled back at him and started walking over. She pulled Renji over to the seat right next to Ichigo and sat him down before turning to the carrot top and handing him a piece of paper.

"All you're doing is talking to everyone, one at a time. Renji will be the first person you talk with. Just ask him questions and what-not. There're some questions on that paper in case you run out of things to ask… You two have fun! You have about 25 minutes until I send the next person in!" Rukia chirped excitedly before skipping out the door and slamming it closed, officially sealing off Ichigo's fate…

The strawberry sighed before turning to Renji, who had this huge grin on his face.

"Ya look nice Ichigo." He said, his grin still in place. Ichigo blushed a little, but his scowl stayed in place.

"T-thanks…" He grumbled quietly, making Renji's grin widen. He sighed again before giving up and deciding to start asking questions...

It wouldn't hurt to play along… would it?

"Okay sooo… Why exactly are you doing this whole stupid game thing?" Ichigo asked the first question that popped into his head.

Renji's grin fell and his face turned slightly serious before saying, "To win your heart, of course." Ichigo's scowl darkened, making the redhead panic a little so he quickly added, "Not that I think you're just something to be won, you're so much more than that!"

The strawberry's expression softened quite dramatically at that confession and he blinked a few times. He then averted his eyes from Renji's and began tugging at his skirt a little nervously, but he scolded himself mentally for that.

'_Since when have I been so nervous all the damn time!? Especially in front of Renji! Come on Kurosaki! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!'_ -was Ichigo's inner lecture to himself as he looked back up at Renji, who was smiling softly. Ichigo felt his cheeks going a little red, and he didn't even know why!

"Okay, next question." Ichigo said while looking down at his lap, trying to get this over with.

"And that would be…?" Renji urged.

"Well… When did you first realize you had feelings for me?" Ichigo asked, and he was honestly curious about that.

The redhead leaned back in his chair comfortably, placing an arm over the back of it while his other hand went to scratch at his chin in thought.

Ichigo suppressed the urge to fidget impatiently.

It took the Shinigami a few seconds of reminiscing before he finally sat forward in his seat so that his face was closer to Ichigo's.

"I would have to say that I fell in love with you after we first fought. Remember it? It was when you were trying to rescue Rukia… I think it was because of the way you looked so fierce and determined that was just amazing, plus the fact that you were risking your life for one of my good friends. But I didn't realize that I actually really liked you that way until recently I guess." Renji admitted enthusiastically, his smile never fading.

Ichigo blinked is brown eyes a few times and he looked away from Renji after the guy had said 'love'.

The air in the room was slowly starting to heat up from the intensity of the emotions that fluttered about the room. Affection, Lust, Confusion, Uncertainty, Embarrassment…

"I see… So you're really not just lusting after me?" He asked, making Renji snort in amusement.

"'course not! Though I would love to have sex with you, but I'm not _just_ looking for that, Ichigo." He said and the berry couldn't stop the blush after the guy openly admitted to wanting to have sex with him. And to Ichigo's slight dismay… Renji continued talking. "You're strong, faithful, caring, trustworthy, and adorable. You're one of a kind, Ichi."

Ichigo didn't know if he should feel flattered or overwhelmed. This was starting to get to be a little much for the carrot top… Renji never really talked about these kinds of things with him, and he was really starting to fear the thought of the other bachelors being just like this too.

"What're some of the questions on that sheet?" Renji asked curiously while trying to peer at it, but Ichigo snatched it up before the redhead could get a good look.

The berry quickly skimmed through the questions and he felt himself twitch and scowl at them.

These were ridiculous!!

He just _knew_ that Matsumoto had to be the one that wrote these!

"Well?" Renji insisted, making Ichigo's scowl turn to him. The redhead instantly leaned back in his chair and looked away from the scary teen, grumbling something about 'Humans always PMSing…'

Ichigo decided to ignore that comment, not really wanting to kill the redhead _just yet_. But… looking down at the paper, Ichigo thought that killing him would actually save himself from asking these humiliating questions…

'_Feh, let's just get this over withhhh…'_

He read off the first question.

"Where would we go on dates?"

Renji's head snapped back towards Ichigo and his expression was something along the lines of 'Dumbstruck'.

"Huh?"

"You heard me." Ichigo sneered, not wanting to repeat the damned question. Renji tapped his chin in thought a few times before actually answering.

"For our first date, I would take you out to a nice restaurant, of course, and I would say 'go to a movie' but that seems a little too corny for a first date…" Renji said and tapped his chin as continued to think. But Ichigo thought that was a good enough answer to immediately continue to the next question.

"What's your favorite body part on someone?"

Renji instantly grinned at that and said, "Legs."

Ichigo faltered for a second and looked over to the redhead. "You serious?"

The berry wasn't really expecting that… Well yeah, he was sort of… But still!

Renji just shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest contentedly.

Ichigo shook his head and returned his attention to the paper in his hands.

"Would you allow me to cut your hair?" Ichigo read the question off with a little smirk and the redhead quickly covered his beloved, long and glorious hair.

"Nuh-uh! No way! Knowing you, you'd probably shave it all off!" Renji accused and slid his seat back a little. Ichigo snickered.

"Oh? What happened to the whole 'You're faithful, caring, and trustworthy' speech before? Or was that just a lie?" Ichigo said, and he took sadistic pleasure in the fact that he was backing the other into a tight corner.

'_Dammit! Shiro's starting to rub off on me!! Friggin' hollows!'_ Ichigo growled in his mind but the smirk never left his pretty face as he watched Renji panic a little.

Next thing they knew, Ichigo's fun was suddenly ripped away when Rukia opened the door, signaling that their little 'date' was over. The teen really, _really _wanted to whine like a little kid who had gotten his lollipop taken away, but refrained from doing so (for obvious reasons). He watched as Renji started for the door, but the redhead turned to wave and grin towards Ichigo before leaving.

Ichigo hummed in approval, but stopped dead as the next person came in.

'_Aw CRAP.'_

"Hello, Kurosaki." The smooth and deep voice greeted, and it sent shivers down said Kurosaki's spine.

"Hello, Byakuya…"

Rukia looked between the two men as they tried to stare each other down, but she jus shrugged and walked out of the room, shutting the door and leaving the two alone in the room.

The eldest Kuchiki sibling was the first to make a move by sitting down on the seat that Renji had recently been in. Ichigo's eyes followed the man and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It would seem that you're surprised to see me." Byakuya stated and looked the teen up and down with narrowed eyes. Ichigo huffed and crossed his arms angrily.

"Of course I am! For one thing, I thought you hated my guts, because you're always treating me like I'm some no good peasant! And second, I had no idea you were attracted to guys since you were like married to Rukia's sister, who was a girl, and and and and and and…" Ichigo stammered as he tried to think of something else to say. Byakuya just sat there, staring calmly at the flustered teen. After a second though he reached forward and gripped the boy's chin lightly, pulling their faces close together.

That shut Ichigo up in a heartbeat.

The berry felt his cheeks flame up and he tried to wrench his face back, but the grip on his chin was strong, yet it wasn't hard enough to leave a bruise.

"W-what are you doing?" Ichigo asked and cursed himself for stuttering.

"Waiting until you calm down. You kept babbling such nonsense a second ago." Byakuya replied and Ichigo repressed the impulse to roll his eyes and bite the guy's hand childishly.

'_What a SNOB!'_ Ichigo screamed in his head, but he couldn't help but think that the man looked even more attractive up close…

'_No! Bad thoughts! I'm not some stupid pervert like Kon!__ But he _is_ very pretty… such silky looking hair…'_

Ichigo felt his body shiver, but whether it was from excitement or disgust from the thoughts he was having, he couldn't tell.

"Are you okay Ichigo?" Byakuya said while examining the teen intensely. Ichigo could've sworn that Byakuya sounded a little... worried? But he brushed that absurd thought away quickly.

The orange haired berry finally snapped out of his little trance and slapped at the other's hand that was on his face. He leaned back in his chair fully and huffed.

"I'm fine. Just… Thinking… Anyway. Let's get to the damn questions already." Ichigo quickly snatched up the paper of questions, but at the last second decided to ask the question he had originally asked Renji first.

"When did you first realize you had… feelings for me?" Ichigo had hesitated at saying 'feelings' because he was still stuck to the thought that Byakuya lacked the ability to _feel_.

The dark haired captain kept emotionless eyes trained on Ichigo as he sat there, silently pondering.

"When we fought that one time… And you were able to help me figure out my conflicted emotions about Rukia's trial. Before that, I thought you were some arrogant brat, but you really came through with everything, and I respected that. Soon after that I realized that my feelings towards you were more than just 'respect'." Byakuya said, his silky voice making Ichigo woozy.

The strawberry just stared at the other guy, utterly speechless. Not only was he surprised that the stoic captain had said so much… but he also seemed very _genuine _while confessing. That made the orange haired teen flustered and anxious.

Byakuya seemed rather entertained by the teen's reaction.

Ichigo growled softly at the man before turning his attention to the paper again. He decided to skip the questions that he already asked Renji, not wanting to revisit those.

"What would you say is the best thing about yourself?"

Ichigo looked up at Byakuya expectantly, slight curiosity shining in his auburn colored eyes.

"My speed in battle and my good looks." He replied with a flick of his head, making his sleek black hair flow over his shoulders. The gesture was almost _seductive_ to Ichigo, and it made the teen blush and look away.

'_Why does everyone keep making me blush?!! My face is going to be permanently red by the end of the day, I just _know _it!' _

_**Meanwhile… with the other Bachelors…**_

A blue haired man, famously known as Grimmjow, and a Golden eyed Albino named Shirosaki, were currently sitting on the floor of the large living room area. Grimmjow had his legs folded in front of him, Indian style, with his arms crossed over his strong chest, while Shirosaki had his legs bent in front of him and his arms draped over his knees, almost seeming to be in the fatal position.

Both hollows were staring at each other intensely, neither one blinking.

The other bachelors that were scattered around the room would glance at the two warily, ready for an outburst at any second.

But it never came.

That is until about three seconds later.

"BLINK DAMN YOU!" Grimmjow shouted, slapping his hands on his knees hard to emphasize his anger. Shiro merely blinked in response and smirked.

"You first…" He cackled, making the other seethe.

The two continued staring at each other; neither of them wanting to loose this stupid game.

When Ichigo had been dragged into the room before, both Shiro and Grimmjow became rather bored and came up with small games to entertain themselves. The two were actually getting along with each other, but they would bicker and bitch every once in a while.

Finally loosing his patience with the game, Grimmjow closed deep blue eyes, admitting defeat. Shiro shouted in triumph, throwing his arms in the air.

"I. AM. VICTORIOUS!! The score is now 5-3! BWAHAHAA!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So now wuh?" Grimmjow grumbled, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling idly, completely bored out of his MIND!

Shiro tapped his chin in thought as his gold eyes roamed around the room in search of some sort of entertainment. Then his eyes fell upon the Quincy, Ishida Uryuu. He remembered Ichigo always bitching about how the kid was too prideful for his own good, so Shiro thought it would be _really _fun to mess with him.

Grimmjow followed Shiro's devious gaze to that human kid, who was sitting by a table, all by his lonesome and reading some book.

"Come on. Follow my lead" Shiro whispered to the bluenette as he got up and made his way over to the raven-haired teen. Grimmjow shrugged and followed the guy.

'_This should be entertaining…'_

Uryuu's eyes looked over his glasses to warily watch the two approaching figures, his head still tilted down towards his book. He got this sinking feeling that they weren't coming over for just idle chatter.

"Yo!" The white hollow greeted before sitting in a seat on the right of the Quincy, where Chad had been sitting earlier. Grimmjow took the seat on the other side of the teen and waved a hand in greeting. Ishida fidgeted uncomfortably before closing his books and looking at the two with calculating eyes.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"You could say that." Shiro said with a playful expression as he scooted his seat as close as he could to the Quincy's, making the teen feel even more awkward. The hollow then continued, "Me and Grimm here were wanting to play this game and we were wondering if ya wanted to join in, seeing as you looked so lonely and all."

Uryuu looked between the two with distrust as they both shared a look. He pushed his glasses up his nose as his eyes landed on Grimmjow expectantly, to see if Shiro's statement was true. The espada smirked and said, "Yeah. It's a really fun game too…"

Ishida felt himself shudder a little at the evil intent promised behind those words.

"I'd rather not." He said politely and went to reach for his book.

"Eh? Tch… I knew a Quincy would be too much of a pussy to wanna play…" Shiro whined, sighing dramatically. Ishida glared at him for that and he had the urge to shoot an arrow through his pure white head for insulting his pride like that.

"What's the game?" The teen hissed, already berating himself mentally for _letting_ himself get sucked into this. Shiro and Grimmjow shared a victorious grin before the hollow scooted his seat even _closer_ to Uryuu's.

Grimmjow took that as a hint to scoot towards the teen as well.

"It's called 'The nervous game'." The albino announced while moving his face closer to the raven's. Ishida suppressed the urge to gulp and move away, not allowing his pride to take another jab.

"The nervous game?" He repeated, utterly confused.

Ishida could feel the hollow's hot breath on his face as he answered.

"Yep. And all you have to do is not get nervous… or else ya loose…"

As he said this Shiro began sliding his hand up the Quincy's thigh, making the teen jolt a little, but Ishida kept his gaze steady and piercing. He heard Grimmjow's chuckle next to him, but he kept his eyes locked with Shiro's suspiciously.

"Yer pretty good kid." The hollow smirked and then took his other hand and moved it up the other thigh. He could feel the muscles tightening beneath his fingertips and he continued traveling the hands up and up and _up…_ "Getting nervous yet~?"

He only had to wait a few more seconds before the kid finally snapped.

"Okay that's enough!! Get your filthy hands off of me!"

Shirosaki and Grimmjow both laughed loudly as they ran away from the enraged teen, while dodging blue arrow shaped spiritual energy.

Oh how hollows just _loved_ to piss people off!!

* * *

R&R~~! 33

_------These are the Tally's on the Bachelors SO FAR------_

Hichigo (Shirosaki) + 3

Grimmjow J. + 2

Aizen S. +1

Renji A. 0

Byakuya K. 0

Kenpachi Z. 0

Stark 0

Chad Y. 0

Nova 0

Shinji H. 0

Uryuu Ishida -1

Hitsugaya T. -1

Ikkaku M. -1

_(+) - means that more people voted for them to stay then to go.  
_  
_(-) - means that people voted them off.  
_  
But we still a long ways to go

;D

Hope you guys liked thisss~~

I _should_ have the next update up shortly, but school is starting up again tomorrow, so don't get your hopes up...


	5. Ch3prt2: A Heart to Heart

* * *

TALLYS!!!!!

**BACHELORS**

-Grimmjow J. +6

--Renji A. +3

-Ikkaku M. -4

--Byakuya K. +3

--Kenpachi Z. +1

-Stark +6

-Hichigo (Shirosaki) +7

-Uryuu Ishida -3

-Hitsugaya T. -1

-Chad Y. -1

-Nova -1

-Shinji H. -1

-Aizen S. +1

* * *

**~~*Author's Note*~~**: TADA~~ I do believe I've made this chapter even longer! xD so ENJOY! And I also have a beta now! WEWT! I feel special! THANK AGAIN HUN!

**~~*Warning*~~:** Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**~~~*LE BACHELORETTE*~~~**

Ichigo Kurosaki

* * *

_**++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++**_

.....

...

.

_Chapter 3: A Heart to…. Heart [part 2]_

.

...

.....

_'That asshole winked at me!_ Winked!! _What's that supposed to mean anyway? Never mind! I don't want to know what that stiff is up to…' _Ichigo sighed mentally as the famous, Byakuya Kuchiki walked out of the door that Rukia was holding wide open.

If Ichigo had to describe his whole 'Date' with the noble in one word, it would be… "_Tense_". Well it was tense for him at least; Byakuya just seemed as cool and collected as always. Ichigo hadn't even been able to ask many questions, because he was too busy worrying about what the pretty man would do, not that he really thought that the man would really do anything though. Ichigo just had this strange feeling that Byakuya wanted to **eat** him! (Not in a sexual way either you PERVERTS! ~~**''heh heh guilty as charged ;D''**~~)

But now, Ichigo let out a sigh of relief as the emotionally stunted man was out of sight.

"Are you ready for the next Bachelor?" Rukia said with a sickly sweet smile, which got the teen's attention right away. He groaned loudly in despair and was tempted to just scream 'NO' but bit back his tongue quickly.

Rukia seemed to notice the hesitation and her smile grew wider.

'_DEVIL WOMAN!_' Ichigo screamed in his head and glared at the small woman, hoping that she'd burst into flames. Rescuing her be DAMNED!

Ichigo was so enraptured with glaring at Rukia that he didn't seem to notice the other person squeeze through the door.

"Hey there Ichigo."

Said berry's head snapped to the man who just spoke and then he proceeded to choke on his own saliva. There was a huge, sinister grin on the man's lips, which showed off rows of sharp teeth. As the man walked closer Ichigo had to crane his neck upwards. The man's smirk grew larger as he towered over Ichigo's frozen form.

"Hello Kenpachi." Ichigo squeaked, and he cursed his voice for not working properly.

As the large captain took another step towards the teen, Ichigo took a step back, only to trip back onto his seat with a 'thump'. The teen scooted his chair back as Kenpachi took his place in the other seat.

The orange haired boy couldn't help but to take note of how Kenpachi's head still loomed over him, even when the man was sitting down.

Ichigo's attention snapped back to Rukia as the girl giggled a little, but before he could shout at her, she was out the room, the door slamming after her. Then came the eerily quite hum…. The hum was mostly caused by Ichigo's whirling nerves.

SO… In order to avoid any more awkward silences, Ichigo immediately went for the question sheet, and he (purposefully) forgot to ask his normal 'When did you first realize you liked me' question, because he kinda didn't want to know..

"So what're we going to be doing, _Ichigo_?" Kenpachi grunted, his grin attempting to seem seductive as he watched the teen fuss over a sheet of paper. Ichigo didn't answer him though, thus causing the giant man to snap and reach forward to snatch up the paper that _dared_ to take the berry's undivided attention!

Ichigo jumped slightly when his precious question sheet was taken from him. He blinked up owlishly, only to find Kenpachi was looking through the words.

"Dammit Zaraki! Give it back!!" Ichigo wailed and lunged for it, his face red from embarrassment. Kenpachi merely had to stand up in order to avoid Ichigo's reaching hands.

"What the hell kind of question is 'If we were to get married, how would you have proposed to me?'" Kenpachi frowned at the question and raised an eyebrow curiously towards the blushing teen.

Ichigo's chocolate colored eyes were wide and he was barely able to keep from fainting as all of his blood rushed to his face. His mouth fell agape and his voice stuck in his throat.

Kenpachi chuckled at the teen's reaction and then he leant down so that they were face to face before saying, "Are you saying that you want to marry me?" He teased.

Ichigo snapped out of it when he heard the mocking voice and scowled menacingly. A growl ripped through his throat and he clenched his fists before snatching the paper back and plopping back down in his seat.

Ichigo continued grumbling as he looked for a question that wouldn't make him blush like a little girl, but all the damned questions were so… _personal_! And Kenpachi was apparently getting impatient because he had moved his seat right next to Ichigo's. They were so close that their shoulder and thighs brushed against each other. Well, actually, it was more like Kenpachi's arm and thigh brushed against Ichigo's shoulder and knee.

Ichigo really wanted to scoot his chair away but didn't. (He didn't want to seem… rude.)

"I guess the next question is… 'Have you ever worn women's clothing'?" Ichigo scoffed at that question and turned his head towards Kenpachi, expecting to hear an immediate: 'NO', but it never came. He felt his eye twitch when he noticed Kenpachi was twiddling his fingers and looking away from him. "You can't be serious…" The teen said in disbelief, hoping that it was some sort of joke.

Kenpachi would've been the last person he would've guessed to have worn women's clothing. THAT'S _WHY_ HE PICKED THAT QUESTION!!

"Yachiru made me wear some make-up, a dress, and some high heels one day for her birthday..." Zaraki grumbled bitterly and bowed his head in shame, the bells on his hair ringing quietly with the movement.

Relief went through Ichigo when he heard that Yachiru had _forced_ the guy to do it, and Ichigo couldn't really blame him: That pink haired demon could be very persuasive when she used her whiny little voice. Somehow he wanted to think that she and Rukia and were related in some way… But then Ichigo sighed, pushing that thought away, and settled for glaring down at his skirt and high heeled boots before turning to the giant man. He reached up high and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder in a sympathetic way.

"It's okay. I know exactly how you feel…" Ichigo mumbled while giving his skirt another dirty glare. Kenpachi sniggered in amusement at Ichigo's words. "What's so damn funny?" Ichigo snapped, instantly taking his hand off of the man's large shoulder.

Zaraki turned his head down towards the teen, his razor sharp teeth glistening ominously.

"Nothing… It's just that I should let Yachiru dress you up, because you look really good in girly clothes, strawberry."

Ichigo's scowl darkened and he ground his pearly whites together in order to keep himself calm.

"I'm not some damn _Barbie_ doll that you guys. Can just. Play! WITH!! And don't call me strawberry!!" Ichigo snarled, his voice growing darker after about every two words he said. Then he shot up and out of his seat so that he was face to face with the other.

Well, so much for keeping calm….

_**MEANWHILEEEE………… **_

"Please…?"

"No."

"Ahw, come on! Please?!"

"No."

"Come OOOONNNNNNN….!"

"No."

"It's just a simple card game! It's 'Go fish'! Just play with me!

"No.

"I'm practically on my knees here and that's all you can say!!? Just come on!"

"No.

"The hell!! Don't you ever let loose and have some fun?!"

"No."

"…. Is 'no' all you can say…?"

"…. _Noo_."

Shiro cackled loudly as he pointed towards the shorter white-haired man.

Toshiro was starting to loose his patience.

"Don't you have someone else you can annoy?" The captain sighed.

"Nope!" Shiro chirped while plopping down into the seat next to him. "I've pretty much pissed everyone else off in this place, except you. And Grimmjow's busy trying to listen in on Ichigo and that big dude. I would do that too, but I know Ichigo wouldn't really appreciate that." Shiro said while scratching at his unruly white locks.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest while leaning his small form back into the chair.

"You seem to know a lot about Ichigo. I should assume it's because you've been inside his head a lot."

Shiro smirked at that and shrugged.

"You could say that. Ichigo and I have a special bond. That we do. Ya could probably say that I know him better then he knows himself." Shiro said and chuckled when the captain seethed with jealousy.

"So, kiddo, how do ya know the berry?" Shiro asked while scratching at his porcelain-like chin. Toshiro ran a hand through his hair and looked at the other with piercing blue eyes. Shiro didn't even flinch though at he hate radiating off of the smaller body.

"Don't call me 'kiddo', and I don't actually know Ichigo. We've met once or twice and I've seen him fight a few times. I've heard a lot of great things about him from Orihime, though. And I saw that this was probably my only chance to get to know him better." He said and looked back over towards the other bachelors.

The hollow nodded in understanding and he followed the smaller guy's gaze over at the other bachelors.

"Who do you think is going to go first?" Shiro snickered with a smirk as his golden eyes swept over the remaining bachelors. (Byakuya and Renji were sent into a separate room somewhere after talking to Ichigo. Shinji and that Chad guy went to go look for the bathroom…)

Toshiro shrugged and he was actually considering answering the hollow, but thought better of it.

"I think it might be that quiet dude in the back. Ichigo never really had patience for people who never seemed to talk. Kinda like that Kuchiki dude, but at least that guy has _attitude_. The mod soul over there just doesn't really have anything going for him. I feel sorta bad for him. And I would say that the lazy ass Espada over there would go too, but I'm not sure… I get this feeling that I shouldn't underestimate him…" Shiro said and hummed in thought. Toshiro felt himself nodding in agreement and actually thinking over what the hollow said.

((Who woulda thunk that a hollow and a shinigami would ever have a conversation, let alone _agree_ on something.))

"Come on. Let's try to go talk to that mod soul!" Shiro said and was about to get up and drag Toshiro with him, but he froze when he heard a loud crash coming from the door next to him.

The same door that Grimmjow had been leaning against…

And the same door that had hid the room that Ichigo was in.

All heads whipped towards the door just in time to see said door and two bodies go flying across the room. Shiro had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing when he saw both Kenpachi and Grimmjow lying in a heap on the floor.

The heads then turned back towards the room to see Ichigo standing in the broken and disheveled doorway.

"_I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME STRAWBERRY! AND I SWEAR IF YOU TOUCH ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'LL __**KILL**__ YOU!_" Ichigo shouted angrily as he pointed towards the messy heap known as Zaraki.

Shirosaki smirked at Ichigo's angry expression, and he was about to happily skip over to the teen and kiss his berry's anger away but he was stopped by a small hand gripping the back of his shirt. He looked back to see Toshiro holding him back and shaking his head. The hollow turned his attention back forward when he heard Kenpachi laughing loudly.

"HAHA! Now THIS is the Ichigo I remember! I can't help but feel all excited when I see that fire in your eyes, strawberry!" Kenpachi said in a taunting way. Ichigo's body went rigid and his eyes blazed furiously.

Shiro winced at that.

'_Should've kept your mouth shut…_'

"WHAT DID I _JUST_ TELL YOU!?" Ichigo yelled in frustration, and he was in front of Kenpachi in a split second. The captain didn't even have time to dodge before his face was bent inward from the force of both of Ichigo's high heeled boots. Orange bangs wisped gracefully in front of blazing chocolate brown eyes. His arms were bent at his sides as he pushed off of Kenpachi's flattened face and he flipped backwards with such poise and elegance that he landed back onto his feet perfectly. His pretty face was twisted into an enraged expression as he stood there in all his dangerous, untamed beauty.

"GAH!" Grimmjow yelped as the large captain fell back on top of him. The espada's arms were all that could be seen of him as he flailed them around desperately, but Ichigo didn't even seem to notice as he stalked towards Kenpachi's motionless form.

There were two identical shoe marks running down the captain's long face, and he grunted in pain when the heel of Ichigo's left boot dug into his gut.

"Say it again. I. _Dare_.You!" The teen hissed and he was about to ram his foot back into Kenpachi's stomach but stopped when he finally noticed the flailing arms behind the man. "Oops…" Ichigo mumbled before kicking Kenpachi in the side, sending him flying again. The teen blinked when he realized who he had freed, and he was almost regretting that he had done so.

"H-hey…" Grimmjow choked out as he took in deep breaths, as if he'd almost drowned a second ago.

"What the hell are you doing down there?" Ichigo said, raising an eyebrow.

Grimmjow's blue eyes narrowed at that and he jumped up onto his feet instantly.

"HEY! It aint _my_ damn fault tha' some huge ass monster came flyin' at me through the fuckin' door!!! An' then he fell on me 'fore I could get back up!!!" He growled and pointed accusingly at the orange haired human.

Said human sighed and shook his head.

"You're hopeless…"

"How's tha'!? _Yer_ the one tha's hopeless! Getting' all riled up from bein' called a fuckin' strawberry!"

"Yeah!? Well you're one to talk you jackass!! HYPOCRYTE!!"

"SAY WHA'!? Why you lil' punk!! I awtta beat the sh—"

"Give it a rest, Grimmjow."

Both men froze as that dreaded voice reached their sensitive ears. They both simultaneously snapped their heads in the direction of where it came from.

"Aizen…" They both growled, again at the same time.

"I must say, it's quite impressive how alike you two are, and yet you're both so different." The man said while tilting his head up in a superior matter as he gazed down at the two.

Ichigo was about to pounce on the man in anger but was stopped by Grimmjow's arm wrapping around his torso.

"Dun ya _dare_ let yerself get worked up by him. Tha's exactly wha' he wants ya ta do…" The bluenette whispered into the teen's ear urgently, making him calm down.

Aizen's dark eyes narrowed a little in anger when the teen stopped struggling and blinked over to the espada, the fury seemingly vanished from his auburn eyes. Aizen's anger rose even more when he noticed that Grimmjow still had yet to release his arm from around Ichigo.

"I assume that your time with Kenpachi is up, so that would mean that it is my turn with the 'Bachelorette'." The powerful man said calmly while reaching out a hand for Ichigo.

The carrot top glared at the offered hand for a few seconds before sighing dramatically and taking Aizen's waiting hand in his.

Grimmjow reluctantly let go of Ichigo and his blue eyes turned dark as he watched his 'boss' walk away with the precious berry. But he stopped glaring and blinked in confusion when the arm that had been around Ichigo's warm body was suddenly twisted behind his back at a painful angle. He grunted softly at the pain when his arm continued being pulled up slowly, to drag out the pain. He tried pulling his arm back down but the grip on his wrist was very strong.

The espada looked over his shoulder and gulped loudly when he saw a certain albino… and that certain albino was now grinning sadistically at him.

Ichigo blocked out Grimmjow's pain filled shouts and yelps as he walked towards the newly refurbished door to the stupid 'date' room. (He guessed that Rukia and Orihime had fixed it while he wasn't looking.) Sure he felt bad for the blue haired espada, and sure he wanted to turn and see what was causing him to be in such pain, but he wanted to keep his undivided attention on the man that was currently holding his hand.

Putting his guard down for one second in this Shinigami's presence could be fatal…

Ichigo tensed as he was pulled into the room and the door was shut softly behind him, which muffled Grimmjow's voice. The teen wanted to jump out of the window and run for his life when he felt arms wrap around him from behind and a hand reached up to his chin, tilting it back and forcing him to look up at the man's face. Ichigo couldn't help but tremble in fear from being so close to this man.

"Ichigo… I have a proposition for you." Aizen said, getting straight to the point. Ichigo nodded, telling the man to continue. (He was too scared that his voice would squeak or quiver if he tried to speak) "If you let me win and come back with me to Hueco Mundo, I promise that I will never lift a finger to Soul Society again. Your precious Family and Shinigami friends will not be harmed by me or any of the espada."

Ichigo's body stiffened to the point where he felt like he would turn to stone.

'_That bastard is trying to bribe me with the safety of my precious people!! That asshole is-… but… if I agree to this then they won't have to be hurt… and this stupid war can be over… I-… NO! ICHIGO SNAP OUT OF IT!_'

"Like hell!!! There's no way a bastard like you would ever keep a promise like that!! For all I know you'll probably lock me up or something as soon as I step foot into Hueco Mundo and then go ahead and attack Soul Society anyway!!!" Ichigo growled and wiggled his way out of the bastard's arms.

"I may be a man with evil intentions, but I always keep my word. What kind of Shinigami would throw away his pride like that?"

"YOU WOULD!!" Ichigo snarled and backed away from the man.

He was fucking _angry_.

He was angry at Aizen for even proposing such a stupid idea.

And he was also angry at himself for even _considering_ it!!

' ' '_**Dun ya dare let yerself get worked up by him**_' ' '

Grimmjow's words echoed in his mind and he mentally slapped himself for letting himself get worked up like this. So he took in a deep breath and calmed himself down before looking back up at Aizen.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline your offer." He said and his voice was strong and steady for once. (Thank the lords!)

Aizen was both impressed and surprised to see how quickly the teen collected himself and cleared his hectic mind.

"That's too bad…" Aizen said with that polite smile of his. (GAG!)

"Yeah…" Ichigo said and he fought the urge to run away when the man started stalking towards him. "Ngh." The teen grunted as Aizen gripped the hair at the back of his head and pulled, making his head turn upwards.

"But know this… my offer will still be up when you decide to change your mind… And I'll do everything I can to help persuade you." Aizen said, his hot breath ghosting over Ichigo's exposed throat.

The teen began to panic and started pushing at the larger man's chest, but it was futile. He felt his throat go dry and he tensed as a wet tongue lapped over his pulse. And he knew that the bastard could feel his heart beating erratically.

Ichigo's eyes quivered and, to his horror, his body was still frozen in place. He wanted to scream and throw the man out like he had done with Kenpachi, but for some reason he felt powerless. And the massive reiatsu that was pushing down on him didn't help!

**At all!**

'_OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO OHNOHONOHONHONOOOO!!!!!_'

Ichigo felt utterly helpless… like it was the end of the world, and that he was doomed for sure, but relief swept throughout his whole body as the door was suddenly kicked open and a familiar voice spoke.

"Okay, time's up!"

Ichigo had been relieved to hear that before, but this time he almost felt _ecstatic_ as Rukia came walking in. Aizen's dark eyes moved over to the small girl, but his grip on Ichigo never lessened.

"I do believe that I have another 10 minutes and 13 seconds with Kurosaki."

"Yeah, well it seems that we'll have to speed things along, because the other bachelors are starting to get antsy." She said and pointedly threw a glance over to the living room area, where furniture and chairs were torn and broken in pieces, and some walls were missing, along with a few stairs.

"So it would seem…" Aizen sighed and then turned his attention back to Ichigo. "Don't forget what I've said and I'll be seeing you again soon." He whispered against Ichigo's ear and gave it a light nip before letting go and turning to walk away gracefully.

The orange haired teen's legs felt like jelly as he unsteadily attempted to walk towards Rukia.

"H-how many more…" Ichigo whined, not really caring that his voice was shaking at the moment.


	6. Ch3prt3: A Heart to Heart

**BACHELORS**

--Stark +11

-Grimmjow J. +10

-Hichigo (Shirosaki) +9

--Byakuya K. +6

--Renji A. +4

-Hitsugaya T. +1

-Nova +1

--Aizen S. +1

-Shinji H. 0

--Kenpachi Z. -1

--Chad Y. -1

-Uryuu Ishida -4

-Ikkaku M. -4

**~~*Author's Note*~~**: TADA~~ Another updateee~ yay! I made this one pretty long too! :'D hope you guys likey~~ I'd also like to make a special thank you to my Beta! Thanks again for putting up with my bad grammar and stuff xD

**~~*Warning*~~:** Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**~~~*LE BACHELORETTE*~~~**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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* * *

**_

_**++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++**_

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_Chapter 3: A Heart to…. Heart [part 3]_

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"'ey Shiro..?"

"What Grimm?"

"…. Why's it tha' ya look almost exactly like Ichi, bu' I dun feel attracted ta ya?"

The white hollow blinked at the bluenette and gave a 'WTF' face.

"You're a fucking moron…" Shiro sighed while shaking his head, making chalky white bangs brush against his face. He then went back to inspecting his polished black nails, attempting to ignore the still curious espada.

Grimmjow let out a low growl in response.

"Jus' answer the damn question!"

Shiro raised an eyebrow and without looking away from his nails answered in a mocking tone.

"It's 'cause I'm not cute like Ichigo. And I don't give off that aura of innocence that just screams 'Ravish me!'." Shiro snickered, pale lips curling upwards wickedly as he looked up at Grimmjow's expression.

The bluenette scrunched up his face in thought, then nodded his head in agreement.

"Guess yer righ'. Yer not innocent at all. Ichi's more pure minded." Grimmjow grinned, but that only made Shiro cackle loudly. "Wuh's so damn funny, eh!?"

Shiro wiped away a lone tear from the corner of his eye before answering.

"Nothin'. It's just that Ichigo isn't as 'pure minded' as you would like to think. Sure he's never actually _been with _anyone, but he sure as hell has thought about doing stuff. Though some of the stuff he's thought about isn't as dirty as what most teens would think of, but they're still pretty '_un_pure' if you ask me." Shiro explained with a huge smirk.

"NUH UHHHHH!!" The blue haired espada gasped in disbelief while covering his mouth with both hands. Shiro rolled his eyes at that, making Grimmjow drop the act and his blue eyes danced with mischief. "'as he had any naughty thoughts 'bout me?" He asked with a smirk.

Shiro scowled darkly at the Espada (Which only made him look even more like Ichigo).

"I suggest you shut your mouth before I stab you full of holes." The hollow hissed, but the other just ignored his threat.

"SO HE HAS!! I jus' _knew_ 'e couldn't resist my devilish good looks!" Grimmjow laughed while posing seductively.

The albino was about ready to pounce and strangle him, but—to his disappointment—somebody beat him to it. Shiro blinked and looked at the two bodies struggling and rolling around on the floor. Only when they stopped rolling around did he recognize the person on top of Grimmjow. It was Ikkaku.

'_Ah, that poor bastard hasn't made an appearance in a while. Wonder what he was doing before…. On second thought… I don't wanna know…'_

"Wuh the fuck, cueball!? Get offa me!" Grimmjow growled while trying to throw a punch at the bald shinigami, but it was avoided easily.

"I will once ya promise to keep your hands off of the Berry." Ikkaku said with a wide grin and went to punch the espada's lights out, but only ended up hurting his knuckles in the process.

"Steel-like skin comes'n handy, neh?" Grimmjow chuckled before kicking Ikkaku in the stomach, making the shinigami go flying. "AN' LIKE HELL YER GETTIN' YER HANDS ON ICHIGO!" Grimm growled as Ikkaku crashed to the floor, making several eyes turn towards him. "YEAH! YA PUNKS TOO! NONE O' YA ARE LEAVIN' 'ERE WIT ICHI IF I GOTZ ANYTHIN' TO SAY 'BOUT IT!" The bluenette shouted challengingly to the others in the room.

"Yeah!? Well you can't make Ichigo's decisions _for_ him!" That Quincy kid yelled as he slammed his book down on the table next to him and shot up to his feet.

"Oh, Shuddup ya damn human." Grimm scoffed, making Ishida's blood boil. But before the Quincy could retort, Shinji stood up.

"No, Ishida's right! The most we can do is get Ichigo to like us, but we can't just make him choose one of us." The blonde announced while glaring at Grimmjow.

If the espada was like a panther again then his hackles would be raised defensively.

"Yeah, ya may be right, but I know tha' most a ya shitheads are jus' here ta get in his pants! An' that's not what he fuckin' deserves! An' he's too naive to see passed yer fake asses." He snarled while pointedly looking at a few select people. Shiro came up next to the espada, as if to say he was siding with Grimmjow in this argument.

"Oh, but you think he deserves _you, _right? I honestly think you're no better than the people who just want poor Ichigo's body." Ishida retorted coolly, his glasses flashing over his dark eyes as he pushed them up, giving him a dangerous appearance. Shinji was standing right next to him, arms crossed, and his expression cool and calm, while Grimmjow's was full of pure rage.

"HA! Yer damn right abou' tha' four-eyes! I'm probably no better then 'em, bu' even if Ichi dun pick me, tha' dun mean that I'm gonna let those other bastards mess with 'im! He's _my_ fuckin' prey!" Grimmjow snapped, blue eyes glaring heatedly at the others, Shiro doing the same, but he shoved his elbow in Grimm's side as if to say 'he's not _yours,_ dumbass!'

"Would you all stop fighting? We're going to be here for a while, so we should just at least _try_ to get along." Hitsugaya sighed, walking up between the four feuding men. His petite frame seemed out of place amongst the circle of tall and muscled bodies.

"Stay outta this shorty!" Grimmjow yelled, stomping his foot childishly.

Toshiro's icy gaze fixed upon the Espada, freezing him in place.

"What did you just call me?" The captain said in a calm voice, but that only proved that he was _pissed_. Behind his calm façade you should know that he had Zero-tolerance for such nicknames.

Shiro snickered at this new development and took a few steps away from Grimmjow, so he wouldn't be caught in Toshiro's attack of doom.

But before the smaller man could even do anything they all heard a noise at the door.

Everyone's attention instantly went to said door as it opened, but—to everyone's disappointment—Rukia skipped out with Orihime.

"Okay, so who's next!?" She called out as she shut the door behind her.

Grimmjow, Shiro, and Ikkaku were the first ones to bolt forward and slide to a halt in front of the petite women. Once they stopped, all three glared at each other.

"I got 'ere first, so I get ta go see the berry now!" Grimmjow declared and went to walk forward but Ikkaku tackled him to the ground. "THE HELL!? NOT THIS AGAIN! Jus' get _off_!!!!!" Grimmjow yelled while struggling to get up.

Shiro snickered and went to turn and walk to the door while the other two were distracted, but Grimmjow noticed, and threw Ikkaku off of him, making the shinigami plummet onto the albino.

"GAH!" Shiro yelled as he fell face-first to the floor.

"Take tha', Whitey!!" Grimmjow bellowed in triumph as he started walking past the two on the ground, but Shiro shot his ghostly white hands out, grabbing Grimm's slim ankles, which made the espada fall to the ground as well.

Soon all three of them were just a mess of flying limbs. Punches and kicks were exchanged as they rolled around on the ground, so they didn't notice when someone else stood and walked towards Rukia.

"Would it be okay if I see Ichigo now?" The person asked. Rukia smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing. Just walk into the room. You have about 25 minutes."

The person nodded in understanding and started walking towards the closed door, while carefully avoiding the three fighting on the ground.

Said three stopped fighting and stood immediately when they heard the door open and close. They all stared at it in horror.

"DAMMIT GRIMM! This is all your fault!"

"How's it _my_ fault!? Yer the one tha' wouldn't lemme go fi—OUCH! Tha' hurt dammit! What was that for!? … no wait… Shiro… y-you dun wanna do this… No. Wai— ST— AAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

_**BACK WITH ICHIGO…**_

Our orange haired teen had been so caught up in grumbling angrily to himself that he couldn't help but jump a little and pull at his skirt nervously when he heard the door open and shut suddenly. He had to _force_ himself to turn and look at his new 'date'. He hoped to _GAWD _that it wasn't another person like Aizen… He knew that dealing with a person like that twice in a row would be the death of him. But he blinked in surprise when he fully turned around in his seat.

"Chad?" Ichigo asked aloud, not sure if he was really seeing right.

Said person nodded and allowed a small smile grace his long lips.

"Ah, hey buddy! What a great surprise. Ya don't know how wonderful it is to finally see a normal person." Ichigo said honestly while scratching the back of his head, mussing his orange spikes. Then he motioned to the other chair, hinting for the other to sit down.

"Sooo… Ah… I would ask you why you're here, but I'm guessing that you have a crush on me too or something…" Ichigo mumbled, blushing a little, as Chad sat down. "Okay well… When did you first realize you had these sorts of feelings for me?" Ichigo asked nervously as he jumped right into the asking of the questions. He had never expected to have this sort of conversation with Chad, because he always thought that they were just buddies and nothing more… well, he also had thought that Byakuya hated his guts.

Today is just _full_ of surprises!

And Ichigo just _knew_ that the surprises wouldn't stop there.

"I first realized I liked you when you saved me from that gang. And after spending so much time with you and after fighting alongside you, my feelings for you have grown." Chad confessed and he tilted his head down so his curly brown hair could cover his reddening cheeks. Ichigo blinked and nodded dumbly. He was surprised that Chad had said so much, knowing that his friend wasn't much for words, but Ichigo really liked the reply nonetheless.

"Well Chad, I like you too. But I'm not quite sure if I like you 'that way' just yet. But I'll let you know that you're the only person I truly trust so far, so I'm glad you're here." Ichigo admitted, making the larger teen swell with joy.

The orange haired teen shifted nervously in his seat as he thought of another question to ask.

After Aizen had left, the question sheet had mysteriously disappeared! Which was a total _bummer_.

"Uhmmm… what is it that you like about me?" Ichigo asked as he began to fidget even more.

Chad was silent for a little while as he thought it over carefully.

"You're headstrong, you don't pick on the weak, and you never go back on your word. Those are some of the things that I really like about you." Chad said with a straight face. Ichigo fought down a blush and nodded to his friend.

"O-okay. Thanks." The teen said and then leaned back in his chair to think of another question. He was just about to open his mouth to ask one, but stopped when Chad spoke up first.

"Can I ask you a question, Ichigo?"

The orange haired teen blinked and nodded in response. "Sure, go ahead, Chad."

The taller teen leaned forward in his seat, his forearms resting on his thighs and he flicked his head sideways so that his hair brushed to the side a little, revealing both of his brown eyes. Ichigo couldn't sever his gaze away from Chad's as the teen spoke again.

"Do you really think you'll be able to find your true love by playing this 'game'?" He asked curiously while leaning forward a bit more. Ichigo hummed in thought, his eyes still locked with Chad's as he drummed his fingers together.

"You know… I'm really not sure. I mean… There's always the chance that I do end up falling in love with one of you guys, but… then again, I was dragged here unwillingly. So I'm not exactly sure. But I guess it's worth a shot." Ichigo grumbled while leaning back some more and he scratched the back of his head absently before continuing. "Ever heard the saying 'It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.'? Well I agree with it." Ichigo said with a small chuckle.

Chad nodded in understanding.

"So has there been anyone that's caught your interest yet?" He asked the seemingly innocent question, but it was secretly a tactic in order to find out who was going to pose some real competition.

"Well Renji seemed pretty cool, besides the fact that he kinda made a total ass of himself. Byakuya was just a cold bas—wait. Shouldn't _I_ be the one asking the questions here?" Ichigo chided.

Chad hesitated before just shrugging in agreement.

_**BACK WITH LE BACHELORS~~~~**_

"Watch closely now…" Shirosaki whispered quietly to his 'partner in crime'. Said partner nodded silently and his blue eyes were glued upon the scene before him.

The albino was walking forward ever so slowly on the tips of his toes. Each step he took brought him closer to his goal. And that goal just so happened to include a certain person that was sleeping soundly on the ground.

Grimmjow had already tried to warn the hollow that waking this specific Espada could lead to drastic consequences, but Shiro just couldn't say 'no' to this newly found chance at annoying someone. So now Grimmjow was just watching Shiro with a smirk, eagerly awaiting to see the hollow get beaten to a pulp. (Seeing as he's already been beaten up _twice_ by Shiro today, this was perfect revenge!... well not really… since he wouldn't be the one bloodying up the hollow…-pout-)

Shiro finally reached his destination after a few more quiet steps, and he then calmly peered at the figure's sleeping face. A wicked grin was etched upon his lips as he raised his sandal clad foot up high. With a battle cry he began plummet that foot downwards, aiming for the prone espada's stomach, but his pale ankle was caught mere inches from said stomach. Shiro wasn't even able to holler out a curse before he was flipped onto his back, landing on the floor.

He quickly sat back up to glare upon the man's still (seemingly) sleeping face. Golden eyes narrowed.

'_How the hell was he able to block that while still asleep!?!'_ The hollow screamed in his head. His heated gaze then turned to Grimmjow when he heard the man laughing his ass off.

"Shuddup DICKWAD!" He spat at the chuckling espada.

"Tha' was friggin' hilarious!" Grimmjow shouted back as he doubled over and clutched at his stomach in mirth.

Shiro looked back over to his attackee only to find that the once sleeping man was now peering at him lazily with one eye open.

"You'll have to try harder than that to piss me off." Stark drawled with a yawn before closing his eye again in order to fall back asleep.

Shiro seethed in shame and anger and attempted to kick the man again but it was easily blocked.

"You were supposed to be asleep dammit!!" The hollow shouted in frustration and then attempted to strangle Stark, but Grimmjow held him back.

"Leave th' poor bastard 'lone, whitey." Grimmjow snickered while dragging the struggling albino away.

"This isn't over Stark! I _will _get my revenge!!!!! GRAH! Lemme go Grimm! The bastard's smirking at me!!" He snarled and clawed at the air uselessly.

All noise and movement stopped instantly when the ever aforementioned door opened once again.

Shiro swiftly hid behind Grimmjow's taller form as Ichigo and Chad walked out. Grimmjow sent a curious glance over his shoulder at the hollow but then ignored him in order to look towards the luscious berry.

"Thanks Chad. I had a really great time." Ichigo said sincerely and lightly touched the taller teen's arm before awkwardly walking back into the room in his high-heeled boots. "Whoever's next had better get their ass in here now!" Ichigo shouted over his shoulder before closing the door halfway.

Grimmjow and Shiro were about to race towards the room in a flash, but they both promptly fell flat on their faces for the umpteenth time that day! They both looked down, only to realize that a piece of string was tightly wound around their ankles.

"When did…" Shiro started asking but stopped as he looked up to see a certain espada standing in front of the doorway. A lazy smirk spread across his face and he stood there in a triumphant manner. "You no good son of a—" But his curse was cut short as Stark turned away from him and walked into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"We really need ta figure out a plan ta get ridda these other bastards." Grimmjow growled beside him. The frustrated hollow could only nod in silent agreement.

_**WITH ICHI-BERRY~~ (:**_

Ichigo turned on his heels as the door slammed shut. Auburn eyes took in the appearance of his newly revealed 'date'.

The man was an espada, that much Ichigo was sure of—because of the stupid white get up that looked somewhat like Grimmjow's and the bone mask around his neck. The hollow/shinigami/person had long, wavy dark brown hair that stopped just above his shoulders and dull gray eyes that were half lidded in a lazy way, as if he just wanted to take a nap at the moment. Ichigo also noticed the light beard that tickled the man's sharp chin and the tall physique.

They both stood in a—not-so-awkward—silence where they both eyed each other's appearance carefully, making Ichigo a little self-conscious, and he pulled at his skirt as a newly formed nervous habit.

"So… What's your name again?" Ichigo asked, trying to fill that silent void that had conjured between them.

"I haven't introduced myself to you. My name's Stark." The man answered (more like drawled) as he leaned back against the door comfortably, arms crossed over his chest. Ichigo hummed thoughtfully in reply and remained standing. He was beginning to get restless from sitting around all the time.

"So Stark—if that _is _your real name—why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself." Ichigo said, a playful smirk gracing his lips. The espada matched the smirk and shifted his arms slightly before replying.

"Well for starters I'm the Primera Espada of Aizen's army. I have an annoying fraccion named Lillynette and I usually spend my days lazing about and resting when I'm not busy doing something else." He explained serenely, his lazy yet deep and silky voice setting a cadence that seemed to lull the teen.

Ichigo found himself feeling rather comfortable in this man's presence.

"I see… So.. What brings you here? I mean… You don't really know me, and wouldn't you prefer to be sleeping or something?" The berry asked with a raised eyebrow. Stark merely shrugged.

"I had heard great things about you from Grimmjow—seeing as the guy wouldn't shut up about you— and thought it would be fun to come along and meet the famous Kurosaki Ichigo. But, if that's how you're going to be, I guess I'll just be going." The espada shrugged again as he slowly straightened himself from the door and reached out for the silver knob. He only stopped when a soft hand grabbed his wrist gently.

"W-wait! I didn't mean it like that. Well I mean… you can leave, by all means, I'm not going to force you to stay here, but I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything." The teen said hesitantly, his auburn gaze cast down, towards the floor.

Stark looked at Ichigo, his seemingly expressionless eyes roaming over the teen's face as he reached out with the hand that wasn't currently clasped in that feeble grasp. He ran his fingers through messy orange locks soothingly. The teen hastily looked back up at the espada and scrunched up his face in slight irritation at being touched like that, but he didn't pull away from the caress.

After a second the strawberry snapped out of it and released Stark's wrist before stumbling back a little, causing Stark's long fingers to fall from his head.

"Ah. Sorry." Ichigo said nervously while yanking at the hem of his shirt.

'_Come on! Why am I being such a damn girl! I'm always blushing and being nervous! This isn't me at all! (okay maybe I do blush every once in a while but I mean…) ugh! I BLAME THE SKIRT!_' Ichigo fumed in his head.

"So what would it take to 'woo' you?" Stark drawled bluntly and watched in amusement as Ichigo blushed and sported a priceless 'WTF' look.

"Excuse me?!" Ichigo sneered, his anger starting to bubble.

"Well the whole point of this is to 'win your heart'. And now that I know that I actually like you, I would enjoy being the one that does so. But I'm not sure how to go about doing that." Stark said truthfully with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. Ichigo's angry bubble popped after hearing that and he visibly fought with the blush that bore it's way onto his face.

"I… I… Urgh. Hell if I know!!" Ichigo shouted and pouted (in a manly way of course…).

Stark let out a soft chuckle as he walked a little closer to the teen. "Ah.. So is what I'm doing right now working just fine?" He asked and began petting those soft orange tresses again. Ichigo seemed to hesitate before yanking his head away, a blush still covering his face.

"No!" The teen denied, which only amused the espada.

Ichigo was surprised to find that even though the espada was currently invading his personal bubble he still felt rather comfortable with this guy around.

"I see." The man said and backed away a little, which helped to calm the flustered teen.

An awkward silence was starting to fall upon them again, and Ichigo nearly slapped himself on the forehead when he realized that he was supposed to be asking questions right now!

"Okay so next question…. Uhmm…. Oh! What's your favorite body part on someone?" Ichigo asked, priding himself in actually remembering one of the previous questions he's asked.

Stark absently scratched at his cheek as he thought about it.

"I guess it would have to be eyes." Stark said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Ichigo chuckled a little at that one.

"At least it isn't legs this time." Ichigo smirked.

"Who would have a fetish for legs..?" Stark asked in slight surprise while blinking his gray eyes slowly.

"Ah, apparently Renji has a thing for legs… Yeah he's a wierdo, but meh, whatever floats his boat I guess." Ichigo shrugged. He shuffled his feet a bit before glancing curiously at the espada. "So since you like eyes…" The teen started quietly. "What do you think of mine?"

The espada hummed in amusement when he saw that Ichigo was averting his gaze and fidgeting a little.

"Well I can't really critique them if you don't actually look me in the eyes, Ichigo." Stark sighed slowly as he took a few steps forward so that he was close enough to feel the heat radiating off of the smaller body, but not so close that they were pressed against each other.

The teen faltered a few times in his attempt to look up at the espada, but then found the gull to finally look up and stare into bored, colorless eyes.

"You do have a pair of pretty brown eyes. And they're kinda big and cute, almost like a girl's." Stark analyzed bluntly, delighting in the dangerous flash that passed through said auburn eyes.

"Don't let this skirt fool you! I'm _not_ a friggin' girl." Ichigo growled.

"I'll take your word for it." Stark shot back with a smirk.

Just before Ichigo could punch the lights out of the espada, the door opened suddenly.

"Rukia! It's about time!" Ichigo shouted. (He refused to admit he was whining!)

"Chill, Ichigo! Don't get your panties in a twist!" Rukia shouted back playfully as she pranced over to the teen.

He was so busy glaring the girl that he didn't seem to catch the disappointed sigh that escaped Stark's lips. The espada then turned and began to walk out of the room in slow strides, but he was stopped—once again—by Ichigo.

"Ah wait!" Ichigo called to Stark's turned back. The espada stood still, patiently awaiting what the teen would say. "Uhm… Thanks. For being so nice and all." Ichigo said.

Stark said nothing as he threw a small smile over his shoulder and continued out of the room.

* * *

**R&R!!!!**

Please meh ducklings~~?

x3

Grimmjow: "The helllll?? D; When am I going to actually get any time with berry??? -pouts-"

Me: ".... sooooon?"

Grimmjow: "LIES!!"

Shiro: "YEAH! WHATTA ABOUT ME!!?"

Ichigo: "I don't think i could handle any more... ; ~;"


	7. Ch3prt4: A Heart to Tongue

**~~*Author's Note*~~:** TADA~~ I Apologize for the really long wait D: B-but I updated!!!ENJOY MY DUCKLINGS~~

**~~*Warning*~~:** Yaoi, Smut, OOC-ness, randomness.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

**~~~*LE BACHELORETTE*~~~**

Ichigo Kurosaki

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* * *

**_

.

...

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_**++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++**_

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...

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_Chapter 3: A Heart to…. Heart [part 4]_

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"Ichigooo!! My love!! At long last, I now have you all to myself!"

… You could only guess the expression our poor strawberry was sporting at that very moment as a certain blond vizard clung to his right leg like a dog in heat.

"Shinji… I'm only going to say this _once_… Get. Off." Ichigo bit out through gritted teeth, his body stiff and rigid with suppressed fury.

"But why would I do such a thing? Now that I have you in my arms, I vow to never let you go. You are the pearl of my heart, the apple of my eye! Or should I say strawberry.~" Shinji cooed as he wrapped his lanky arms snuggly around the teen, forcing their bodies to press against each other.

The orange-head sighed in exasperation as he watched the blonde nuzzle his abdomen affectionately.

"I'm being serious Shinji… If you don't let go of me I will beat the living hell out of you." Ichigo stated with a straight face, which meant that he was _not_ bullshitting. Shinji faltered in his loving on the berry's leg in order to peer up with big watery eyes.

"Y-you wouldn't…" He sniffled.

Ichigo's only response was lifting his leg and shaking Shinji off.

The blonde was about to start whining at his loss, but was shut up immediately when he noticed Ichigo's skirt had rode up a little and was now revealing… red panties?

"Damn, they really made you go all out with the women's clothes didn't they?" Shinji chuckled as he stood up, his large grin showing off perfectly straight teeth.

"Wuh..?" Ichigo said, dumbfounded, but then he let his auburn eyes follow to where Shinji was still looking.

…

"PERVERT!" The teen snarled as he used one hand to pull the skirt down quickly and the other to point towards the vizard accusingly. His cheeks then turned a deep scarlet when he made eye-contact with the blonde.

And, to his never ending displeasure, Shinji was still leering at him, even though the skirt was now _down_!

There are only a few ways to handle this kind of situation…. (well only a few for Ichigo ATM…)

1- He could run to Rukia and have the guy disqualified and watch as she beat the living hell out of him.  
2- He could beat the living hell out of the guy himself… OR…  
3- He could continue standing there, pointing at him like an idiot…

…

Ichigo obviously chose reaction number 2.

Shinji only had enough time to show an expression of pure horror before Ichigo's fist slammed into his face, and the teen took pleasure in feeling the perv's nose crack beneath his knuckles. The blonde was sent flying onto the table, making the fragile wood split in half from the impact.

Shinji groaned in pain as he sat up, clutching his abused face and looking up at his berry-chan with a pout. (it's a good thing he's used to being beat in the face by Hiyori xD)

"Wauh wash dat fwor?!" [(What was that for?!)]

Ichigo didn't answer as he approached the man, cracking his knuckles threateningly as he did so.

Apparently getting smashed in the face and crash landing onto an oak-wood table wasn't punishment enough for sneaking a peek at Ichigo's sacred panties.

Shinji was getting a bad feeling about this…

Before the carrot-top could actually close in on his prey, Shinji was quick to escape. Ichigo watched in amusement as the vizard leapt headfirst out the window. The guy hadn't even stopped to open the window-finding it much quicker to just jump through the glass, making it shatter everywhere.

Ichigo sighed and scratched at his orange locks as he kicked at the minuscule shards of glass that littered the floor, not even bothering to see if Shinji landed on the ground okay-He already knew the perv was fine, and he also knew that Shinji meant well and all, but the guy just wasn't able to keep his hormones under control… Kinda like some other people that Ichigo also knew!

He'd probably have to clean up this glass too, since it _was_ kinda his fault that it was there in the first place, and he didn't want the girls to clean it up-especially after they already fixed the door he broke from throwing Kenpachi.

Just as the teen was about ready to go out the door and tell everyone that his and Shinji's 'date' was officially over, he froze when he felt that eminent tingle in the back of his head, that same tingle he felt whenever someone with a strong reiatsu was close by. He quickly turned just in time to see those sliding gates that lead to Soul Society. They slowly slid open and engulfed the room with a blinding light. He squinted and shadowed his face with a hand as he peered through the foggy brightness that poured from the doorway.

He could tell from the dark silhouette that it was a man, and it looked really familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on a name yet.

"Hiya Kurosaki."

Wait… He knew that voice.

"Shuuhei?"

It was silent for a second as the sliding doors closed, erasing the blinding light and finally revealing the man.

"Bingo." The guy said with a wink, making Ichigo's face turn slightly red. "Haha. Renji was right; you look really adorable when you blush." Shuuhei chuckled as he walked towards the frozen carrot-top.

"Ughhhhh! Not you too!" Ichigo wailed as he covered his face with both hands, covering the growing flush that was infecting his cheeks from being called 'cute'.

'_How Humiliating!_'

"Yeah, sorry I'm a little late… But I went and bought you some chocolates as an apology. Somehow I figured you had a sweet tooth… Don't ask how I came to that conclusion though." The dark haired shinigami laughed while scratching the back of his head nervously.

Ichigo blinked through the cracks in his fingers and gazed up at the taller guy before looking down at the other's hand. And, look and behold, there lay a small box of chocolates, nestled snugly between long, nimble fingers.

"You really… got those for me…?" The teen asked curiously while finally releasing his face and looking back up at Shuuhei, blush simmering down little by little now.

He was rewarded with a nod and said box being placed into his hands.

"T-thanks." Ichigo said and hesitated before giving the man a 'thank you hug'. Though, he pulled away quickly of course-he didn't want the guy to get the wrong idea or anything… -shifty eyes-

"You're welcome Ichigo. I just hope you like them." He replied while petting Ichigo's soft orange locks affectionately. The teen felt like biting the guy's hand for having the _nerve_ to pet him, but thought better of it, seeing as Shuuhei was being so nice and all. Plus, he _did_ let Stark pet him a little.

And… He really did have a weakness for chocolate. Not that he would ever admit that out loud!

"So, why exactly are you here?" Ichigo asked, trying to change the subject, all the while thinking, '_Please don't say to woo me, _please_ don't say to woo me!_'

"Ah. _Well_… I had received this invitation yesterday saying that I could come here and try to 'woo' you or something. And since I've liked you for a while, I thought I'd give it a shot, ya know? I'm just nervous now 'cause of all the competition I saw. It's pretty brutal." Shuuhei explained with this serious/nervous expression plastered on his scarred face. Ichigo groaned in despair. He should've known from the chocolates that he was here to win his heart too!

He considered just chucking the box of sweets at Shuuhei and shoving him out, but that would be really mean… And Shuuhei was being pretty cool… if you compared him to Aizen and Shinji… and Byakuya… and Kenpachi… and, uhm… Ichigo wasn't sure who else had showed up to this thing, but he was _positive_ that there would be even more assholes to deal with.

"Okay, okay. Take a seat over there; Might as well start asking questions or whatever." Ichigo said indifferently as he sat down in his chair that was located next to the demolished table. And since said table was demolished, Ichigo settled for placing the chocolates onto his lap. Shuuhei took that as a hint to sit down in the other seat.

'_Huh? He hasn't made any lewd comments about my skirt?_' Ichigo was both surprised and relieved at this fact. He was somewhat surprised because he kinda pegged Shuuhei for a pervert. Not because of his tattoo though. Just because of the fact that he usually hung out with Renji and Ikkaku a lot, and they would more then likely get drunk or something. Ichigo has witnessed this before… and let's just say it wasn't pretty, especially when he saw them stumble into 'Hooters' that one time, where they also found Matsumoto. And it got _really_ crazy from there. Ichigo had left as soon as he saw the ebullient woman approach, not caring if he was supposed to be the designated driver at that time.

"So what do you wanna ask me?" Shuuhei asked, interrupting Ichigo's flashback.

"Oh! Uhm… Well let's see…" Ichigo mumbled as he tapped his chin in thought. He cursed the fact that the stupid question sheet was gone, so now he had to actually think of questions. "Ah! I got one. I've always been curious about this. Why do you have '69' tattooed on your cheek? I kind of figured that it wasn't for a perverted reason. I mean... who would _want_ a perverted tattoo like that? Wait… Scratch what I just said. I know a few people who would probably get worse tattoos…" Ichigo rolled his eyes at that but then let his full attention train onto Shuuhei, which seemed a little surprised. "What?" Ichigo asked, scowling slightly.

The shinigami smiled a little and shook his head slowly; making dark bangs brush against his handsome face gently before looking up, into Ichigo's auburn eyes.

"Nothing. You're just the first person to not just assume the tattoo is only some sexual innuendo. But you're right, it's not. When I was younger, about 100 years ago I'd say, a man named Kensei saved me and a few of my friends. After his fight I noticed this tattoo on his torso. It was the 69. So I thought I should tattoo that on my face, so I could always remember that day."

Ichigo had to blink dumbly a few times before eventually speaking up.

"You actually know that muscle-brained oaf?" Ichigo asked, a small smirk gracing his lips. Hisagi's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he suddenly leaned forward in his seat until his face was right up to Ichigo's, making the teen reflexively move his head backwards.

"You know Kensei?? Do you know where he is??" Shuuhei questioned excitedly.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow curiously but answered nonetheless.

"Yeah, he's one of those vizard guys that helped me train to defeat that nutcase, Shiro. Kensei's a good guy… He's just so serious all the damn time, like he always wants to pick a fight with someone. I wouldn't recommend fighting him though. He has a pretty good uppercut for an old guy." Ichigo winced as he remembered getting clonked in the jaw by Kensei's massive fist. He snapped out of it when he heard Shuuhei chuckle though. It was a rather nice sound to Ichigo's ears, especially since he never really got to hear the shinigami laugh that much-drunken howls of laughter don't COUNT.

The carrot-top couldn't help but blush when he noticed that Shuuhei still hadn't moved away from his personal bubble, giving him a clear view of Shuuhei's handsome face.

'_You know… I don't think I'm even going to _have_ a personal bubble by the end of the day… _'

"U-uhm... Hisagi." Ichigo muttered to get his attention before motioning for the guy to scoot back a little.

The older man chuckled again, making Ichigo blink stupidly. Then, before Ichigo could really stop him, Shuuhei leaned forward a little, just enough so his lips brushed against the teen's scarlet cheeks before slumping back into his seat.

"H-hey!" Ichigo yelled as he placed a hand over his cheek. His whole face, neck, and ears were now glowing red.

"I apologize… but I just couldn't resist." Hisagi admitted and placed both hands behind his head, making his pose look relaxed and blissful.

**Let Us See What The Bachelors Are Up To… Shall We?**

"Wait no. We should make it say 'How many times have you sucked dick?'." Our ever mischievous albino suggested as his golden eyes roamed across the piece of paper that was clasped in a certain bluenette's hands.

"Ha! Good one, whitey!" The bluenette laughed as he began writing it down. "Bu' 'ey, wuh if Ichi doesn't even ask 'em these questions?" Grimmjow inquired as he looked up from the question sheet they had stolen from Ichigo.

"Oh well. This is fun anyway. So what should we put next?"

"Hell if I know." Grim grumbled, not really up to the task of 'thinking' at the moment.

"Tch. You're no fun… I'll go ask Ishida then! I'm sure that guy can think of something." Shiro 'hmph'ed and snatched up the paper before stalking over towards the Quincy.

"TRAITOR!" Grimmjow growled and chucked his chair straight at the albino's head, but it was easily blocked with a quick raise of an elbow.

Shiro smirked triumphantly as he towered over his human target.

Ishida looked up over the rim of his glasses to stare apathetically at the crazy hollow.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, do ya think you ca-" But Shiro was interrupted by the almighty door being opened suddenly.

He turned his snow-white head in order to watch as Rukia and Orihime walked into the room to announce 'time-up' for Ichigo and his 'date'.

There were a few minutes of heavy silence as the remaining bachelors waited patiently for their precious bachelorette.

One more agonizingly slow minute passed before someone _finally_ emerged from the room, but Shiro's face turned icy when he noticed that it wasn't Shinji who came out with Ichigo, but some new guy. And that new guy was now leaning towards the berry. And… NUH UH! That guy just kissed Ichi on the cheek!

And Ichigo's only blushing and waving goodbye, like being kissed on the cheek by that guy is completely _normal_. As soon as the teen turned and walked back into the room, Shirosaki openly glared at the newcomer.

Shiro could only recall that Ichigo had met this dark haired dude a few times ((remember peoplez, Shirosaki is always around in Ichi's mind. Lolz)) but the albino was having trouble remembering his name.

"Shuuhei!"

Oh yeah, that was his name.

Shiro's golden eyes followed Ikkaku as the baldy grinned and slapped the black-haired shinigami on the back, like they were best buds.

"What's up? What're ya doing here?" Asked the cue-ball just as Rukia started towards them.

Almost everyone's attention was set on the little crowd, so this was the hollow's perfect opportunity to finally slink into the room with Ichigo. Shiro's white lips curled up into a huge grin as he slowly moved towards the door that was slightly ajar. Just as he was about to touch the doorknob and surprise his berry, something grabbed the back of his shirt (Or Shihakusho if you wanna get technical..) and he was forcefully _flung_ across the room. He only caught a glance of bright blue before he collided with the ground and skidded a few more feet.

"Who's the traitor _now_?!!" Shiro screeched and then started whining childishly as the door was slammed shut. "Screw you Grimmjow! We are SOOOOO over!! If I ever see your scrawny ass then you're dead!! Ya hear me!! DEAD!"

_**Let's See How Ichigo Is Doing, Yes?**_

"Dammit Grimmjow, give it back!" Ichigo screamed at the same time someone on the other side of the door did, but the teen paid no attention to that, because he was too busy trying to get back his chocolates!

"I didn' know ya had a chocolate fetish, berry. I woulda brought ya some if I knew." Grimmjow chuckled with a smirk as he continued to tease the teen with the candy. As soon as those dainty fingers would reach for the box, he would quickly snatch it out of his reach.

"DON'T CALL ME BERRY! And you never asked if I did! So how the hell would _you_ know. ARGH! Grimmjow quit being such an ass!!" Ichigo growled as he got on his tippy-toes and reached up for the precious box, his other hand anchored to the espada's broad shoulder to keep balance as he did so.

He was _so close_ to getting back his sweets-the tips of his fingers just barely brushing against it.

He was so focused on said prize that he completely missed Grimmjow's evil smirk.

"hmm… Speakin' of ass, ya look pretty good in a skirt, berry." He purred in the teen's ear with a hint of that sexy huskiness mixed into his voice.

Ichigo's auburn eyes were now as wide as saucers when he heard that and he let out a loud (manly) squeak when the bluenette's large hand found its way up the back of his thighs, under his skirt, and onto his ass. The teen's face flushed a bright cherry-red as the hand on his ass squeezed firmly, pulling him flush against the other's hard body. Ichigo couldn't help the shiver of excitement that raced down his spine.

[Hey! It's not like he has any control over his hormones, okay!?]

Yeah sure, Aizen may have been just as bad, but Grimmjow's presence wasn't overwhelming or scary like that man's was.

Okay, and yes, _maybe_ he had a soft spot for the espada.

"GRIMMJOW! You pervert! Let me go! Leggo I say!!" He said frantically while pushing at the scarred chest, but the espada just wouldn't budge. Ichigo's face just about overheated when Grimm's teeth latched onto his neck and he felt the sensitive skin being sucked into a hot mouth.

So Ichigo merely reacted like he normally would…

"HIYA!"

Grimmjow groaned in pain and collapsed to his knees, hands now clasped gently onto his precious 'jewels' that had been so brutally abused just now. Ichigo watched as the man rolled around on the ground for a few more seconds. "Feisty~" Grimmjow snickered playfully as he finally began to stand back up, though he was still kinda slouched forward in a defensive crouch (just in case Ichi decided to try something like that again…).

Ichigo ignored him, opting to instead bend down and snatch up the fallen box of chocolates. After dusting off the gift he then swiftly made his way to his chair. Auburn eyes glared half-heartedly at a blue-colored head as the espada finished bitching and was lounged comfortably on the other chair; a blank expression now slapped upon his face.

"Okay, listen. I'm only going to say this once… You grab my ass again and I will throw you out of here like I did with Kenpachi and I will make you leave!" Ichigo snapped and crossed his arms over his chest obdurately and to his surprise Grimmjow only nodded in understanding. It was unnerving to Ichigo how calm and obedient the ever hotheaded espada was being at the moment, and he got this sense of foreboding that this was a 'calm before the storm' moment.

Thus, hoping to somehow delay the 'storm', Ichigo began his interrogating.

"Soo… Grimmjow… Why exactly are you here? And I want a straight answer, not some bullshit answer!" Ichigo growled with a slight glare that promised more than just a knee-to-the-balls if Grimmjow dared to lie to him. (Although, Ichigo already had an idea as to why Grimmjow was there, he still wanted to hear it from the bluenette himself.)

The espada was quiet for a while, just staring down at the floor, seemingly contemplating whether or not to answer Ichigo's question, which made the berry fidget impatiently, but after a few more seconds he finally looked up with a defeated sigh.

"You want the dead honest truth? My main goal is to get you into bed with me, while chasing away those other guys out there, but I also want to see if we could be like those stupid lovey-dovey couples."

…

Ichigo was speechless.

For several reasons.

1) Grimmjow had been totally honest with him.  
2) Grimmjow had actually said he wanted to be Lovey-dovey with him.  
3) _Grimmjow_ had actually talked correct: no slang, no slurs, no curse words. (Which only proved how serious he was about this)

Grimmjow jumped slightly in shock when Ichigo burst out into fits of laughter-an actual, genuine laugh; not some chuckle or snort of laughter.

"Wuh's so damn funny?" Grimmjow grumbled with a glare, reverting back to his old self, though he had to resist smiling at the sight of Ichigo laughing.

In the midst of Ichigo's small giggle fits the teen was finally able to say, "Oh, nothing really."

Grimmjow watched as the berry finally cooled down, but the grin was still plastered on his pretty face. "Heh, well, don't think that you're really going to 'get me into bed with you' just yet, but… Thank you… for being so honest and all." Ichigo said while nervously tugging at his skirt and giving the espada a small crooked smile, which the espada returned.

"Ya know… It's kinda funny how similar we are." Grimmjow mused randomly, looking like some kind of philosopher as he tapped his chin and stared calculating at the carrot-top, all while leaning back into his chair comfortably.

Ichigo spluttered and scowled at that before retorting, "And what makes you say that? I see no similarities between us!"

"Sure we do," Grimmjow immediately shot back, "like fer starters we both hate Aizen's guts." Ichigo nodded at that vigorously. "I'm sure we'd both agree tha' there's nuttin more thrillin' then a good fight. We both have weird ass hair." To emphasize his point Grimmjow tugged at his own sky blue hair. "We're both half hollow half Shinigami. 'nd ya can't deny that we're both extremely good-lookin'." Ichigo rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to smirk when Grimmjow attempted a sexy pose. "'nd last, but not least, we're both attracted ta each other."

Ichigo scrunched his face up and glared disbelievingly at the bluenette. "You've gotta be kidding me. What gives you the idea that I'm attracted to you?" Grimmjow eyed the shinigami with a determined gleam in his eyes before replying.

"'cause o' the fact tha' you 'nd I both know tha' ya like it when I do this."

Ichigo's eyes widened when the espada suddenly reached out and pulled him forward by the front of his shirt, and then Grimmjow also leaned forward until their lips barely touched. All Ichigo would have to do is lean forward ever so slightly and they would be kissing. "Come on Ichi." Grimmjow whispered as he ran a hand through the teen's orange spikes. That's when Ichigo realized that he was actually giving him the choice to either lean forward the rest of the way or just pull back.

'_Why is he being so nice? I'd have expected him to just go ahead and steal a kiss…_'

Ichigo thought about pulling away, just out of spite, but thought differently as he looked down at the espada's thin pink lips. He couldn't resist the urge to just get a little taste of them.

Grimmjow nearly purred in satisfaction when he felt Ichigo's soft lips wrap around his. "Fuck, berry." Grimmjow growled with a smirk as the teen nipped at his bottom lip. Ichigo scowled at the nickname and bit down on the bottom lip he had just been nipping at, but that only seemed to excite the bluenette.

Grimmjow took the hand he had gripped in Ichigo's shirt and slid it up until he could cup the side of the teen's face, his thumb smoothing soft circles over a flushed cheek and making the teen practically melt into a pile of blushing goo. In retaliation, Ichigo began sucking on Grimmjow's bottom lip that was still caught between his teeth and pulled on it slightly, making the espada's body come closer to his. Soon their tongues were intertwined and they became lost in the moment, especially a certain blue-haired hollow.

Well... So much for a 'little taste'.

"Mngh." Ichigo gasped as Grimmjow's hand suddenly slipped under his shirt to roam up his sides and across his chest. "G-Grimm. Don't." He whimpered slightly in disapproval, but it didn't help his protest when he continued to kiss the other back.

For a second Ichigo was worried that Grimmjow hadn't heard him, but-to his surprise-the bluenette actually pulled back. Their lips were apart now, but they were still so close. Ichigo shivered slightly as Grimmjow slowly removed his hand from he berry's body.

Ichigo was about to say something, but was interrupted as the sound of the door knob turning. The teen was unable to move away from Grimmjow fast enough before the door was kicked open.

* * *

Grimmjow: FINALLY! And i gotz me some ass too ;]

Ichigo: DOWN BOY! -squirts with water bottle-

Grimmjow: -Looks like drowned cat-

Ichigo: -snickers-

Grimmjow: -shakes self dry and glares at Ichi-

Shirosaki: -Sulks...-

Ichi and Grimm: -Glances at eachother then stares at Shiro- uhhh?

Shiro: I want some time wth Ichi-chan.... -pouts and draws invisible circles on the ground-

~~~TALLYS FOR BACHELORS~~~

Stark +23

Hichigo (Shirosaki) +9

Grimmjow J. +9

Byakuya K. +5

Hitsugaya T. +4

Renji A. +2

Shinji H. +2

Nova +1

Shuuhei Hisagi +1

Chad Y. +1

Aizen S. -1

Kenpachi Z. -2

Ikkaku M. -4

Uryuu Ishida -6

I was rather surprised by Starkk's votes....

; ~;

COME ON GRIMMY FANS! PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER!

lolz

jkjk

3333

R&R!

D:


	8. Ch3prt5: A Heart to Heart

**Author's Note: **heh heh heh~~ ^___^;; uhh~~ sorry for the really long... wait... for the update Dx i'mreallysorrypleaseforgiveme~~~~~~~~~~~~~ i'd like to thank my Beta! i luz youuu~~!!! any~ ENJOY!

* * *

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**_++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++_**

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_Chapter 3: A Heart to…. Heart [part 5]_

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...

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"Ikkaku?" Ichigo blinked dumbly as said shiny, bald headed man waltzed in with this angry sneer etched on his face.

"Heya dandelion." He greeted, but his cold eyes refused to leave Grimmjow's for an instant.

The two were staring at each other—well actually they were _glaring, _but that's not really surprising—and their muscles were tensed, as if they were about ready to jump at one another and tear the other's throat out.

So, Ichigo, being the 'kind-hearted' and 'heroic' beeing he is, decided to try and stop the fight before it started (If only to save the poor, defensless furnitures and walls… the mansion had already been destroyed enough for today!), but a certain raven haired demon beat him to it.

"Alrighty Grimmjow, your date is over, it's cueball's turn!"

That didn't really help... at all.

But at least they weren't glaring at eachother anymore. Their glares were now glued upon the small Kuchiki, but the intensity of said glares never wavered—not in the least.

The berry sighed softly and stood up, which immediately gained everyone's attention.

**_Well_**...

If he knew that that was all he had to do to make them stop stabbing eachother with their eyes, then he would've done that sooner!!

"Grimmjow, Rukia's right, your time's up. So, if you'd _please_." Ichigo hissed as he gestured towards the door, his voice stiff and slightly venom-laced. But the espada didn't seem to hear the threat behind those words—or rather—he didn't _care_, because next thing they knew, Ichigo was being enclosed within the bluenette's strong arms and a pair of lips was being pressed against his forehead. Said strawberry's forehead began to turn red, along with his cheeks and neck.

Ichigo mentally cursed the person or almighty god that even _suggested_ blushes, because—honestly—they were just very _unnecessary!!!_

Sadly though, that was only Ichigo's opinion, because Grimmjow and Ikkaku thought that blushes were an amazing gift that made Ichigo look rather adorable, and they had already made it their goal to make him blush as much as they could.

Anyway, back to reality!

Just before Ichigo could reach up and grab his offender, AKA Grimmjow, he was only then aware of the fact that said espada was already at the door when his hand grabbed nothing but thin air.

"Well, since ya asked so _nicely_~ I s'pose I'll be goin'… fer now atleast. Later, red!"

And the espada was gone. Just like that.

Ichigo felt both relieved and slightly disappointed.

Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, but he kinda preferred Grimmjow's company over Ikkaku's…

But, then again, Ikkaku was probably better then Aizen or Kenpachi. –Insert grossed out shiver here-.

"What a fucking perv." Ikkaku scoffs, snapping Ichigo out of his mental rant of 'Who's less gross.'

"Huh?" The carrot top said, thinking that he had missed out on a whole conversation and not even noticed as Rukia snuck out the door and closed it.

"Grimmjow, he's a fucking pervert." Ikkaku clarified before sitting down in the seat where said espada had been in moments before.

Ichigo could only hum in agreement.

'_He WAS a pervert… but an _honest_ pervert I guess.' _Ichigo shrugged, then turned his attention back to the bald-headed shinigami… who was currently acting very strange.

Ikkaku wasn't making anymore rude comments and he was just sitting there... **behaving himself**.

"You feelin' okay, Ikkaku?" The teen couldn't help but ask with a worried frown, though he resisted the urge to lean over and feel the shinigami's forehead for a fever (Because Ichigo wouldn't have been able to stop himself from rubbing the shiny baldness if he _did_ touch it, and Ikkaku wouldn't have liked that….)

Said shinigami got this strange sparkle in the corner of his eye and a weird grin spread across his face. "Oh? I'm feeling fine. I'm just happy that it's my turn now with the yummy strawberry~" Ikkaku declared loudly, his grin broadening. "So, what're we supposed to do?" He asked before Ichigo could yell at him for using the forbidden nickname.

"Grr…" The teen growled, his orange mess of hair practically bristling with suppressed rage, but he quickly calmed himself enough to answer. "Well, basically, I'm supposed to ask you some questions and get to know you better…" He hummed while scratching at his head in thought.

What in the world could he ask Ikkaku?

He already knew the shinigami pretty well… Tch, you would too if you had to stay with him and his buddies for random parties every weekend.

'_But there's one thing I've always been curious about~…'_

"Eh?" Ikkaku chortled with a grin. "I guess that makes sense. So what did you want to ask me, berry?" He said while folding his arms in front of his chest.

Ichigo took in a deep breath and tried hard to ignore the nickname in favor of asking the question that he's been curious about for a while now.

"Are you and Yumichika a… well… uh… an _item?_" Ichigo said, his face going slightly red.

Ikkaku went wide-eyed for a moment and the tiniest bit of pink splattered across his cheeks. Ichigo couldn't help but notice that the shinigami seemed to be struggling for words now.

"Uh… well you see. I guess, sorta kinda. In a way… maybe?"

_'oh… he is _so_ dead when I tell Yumichika about this~'_

"So… you came here to get together with me while you're still going out with Yumi?" Ichigo thought aloud and smirked a little when Ikkaku began shaking his head frantically, but before he could try and defend himself, the door burst open, making both occupants jump in surprise.

'_WHAT THE HELL! It hasn't even been 10 minutes yet!_'

The carrot top quickly stood up from his seat—while holding his skirt to make sure it doesn't accidently come up—and glared at the intruder.

Blink. Blink.

"Urahara? What the fuck are you doing here?" The teen snapped as said hat-wearing-shopkeeper waltzed in with a bunch of people following right behind him.

And said people were holding up these big machines that looks suspiciously like… cameras.

"Oh~ Nothinggg. Just thought I'd drop by and see how everything is going so far, I hope we haven't missed anything fun." The scruffy looking man hummed and Ichigo just about lost his temper when a large camera was shoved in front of his face.

"GET THESE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE!!" He snarled as he went to punch in one of the lenses, but it moved away just in the knick of time. "RUKIA!" He whined while trying to hide his skirt-clad body from the others.

It was bad enough that all of his friends have seen him like this, but now all of Karakura???

NO WAY!

And his temper didn't seem to lessen, especially when Rukia didn't come to his rescue like she was SUPPOSED to!

Ichigo looked to Ikkaku for some assistance but the damn cue-ball was being completely USELESS! Ichigo glared pointedly at the laughing man, but he just didn't seem to understand the silent plea for help.

"ICHIGOOOOOOO!!"

Said teen froze and you can see one of his orange brows twitch a little.

'_Oh HELL no…_'

Just then a barely visible blur sped through the door and towards the frightened teen.

"DO NOT FEAR MY BEAUTIFUL SON! DADDY WILL PROTECT YOU!!"

Said 'daddy' leapt gleefully at his son, only to get a booted foot shoved in his lightly bearded chin.

"YOU STUPID GOAT-FACE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!? AND STOP CALLING ME BEAUTIFUL!" Ichigo yelled as he repeatedly stomped on the poor man's back.

The teen took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down as his father started to slowly get back up, all while holding a hand to his abused back, like some old man. At least Ichigo was able to let out some pent up anger, though, using your father as a punching bag probably wasn't the best idea.

'_where's Kon when you need him…'_ Ichigo thought with an evil smirk.

"Uh-Oh~~ Looks like the strawberry is plotting something evil! Quick, get a close-up!" Kisuke giggled while blowing his fan in front of his face casually. Ichigo growled warningly as another high-tech looking camera was shoved close to his scowling face.

"You retards! Why can't you jus—Wait a second… Can cameras even pick up Shinigamis? Like, can people see them?" Ichigo asked, his curiosity now somewhat piqued as he tapped curiously at the glass lens he had been just trying to break only two minutes ago.

"Well, of course! How can you have a show, if you can't even see the contestants! I made these babies myself, so they're full proof!" Urahara said proudly as he patted one of the expensive looking machinery lovingly. "Who's a good camera~! YOU are! Oh yesss~" He purred as he rubbed his cheek against the cold metal.

Ichigo shivered with slight disgust at the strange scene and turned away, only to find that Ikkaku and Isshin had disappeared somewhere.

"Now where the hell did—?" But he stopped when he heard a familiar voice yelling.

"COME BACK PRETTY BALD MAN! I JUST WANTED TO USE YOUR HEAD AS A MIRROR REAL QUICK!" Isshin's loud voice resounded around the whole mansion.

"Good grief… When will they learn?" Ichigo sighed as he tapped his foot, the high-heeled boot clacking loudly against the tiled floor.

When he heard the door open again he slowly, almost mechanically, turned his head towards it to see Rukia and Orihime standing there. "Well…? Who's the next guy? I'd rather we just get this over with…" Ichigo grumbled as he sat back down on his seat, all while trying to ignore the three cameras that were now pointing at him. He didn't really get 'stage-fright'; it's just the fact that everyone in town will see him in a fucking skirt, while being molested by a bunch of weird guys, go figure…

He'll be the laughing stock of his high school!

Well, if that happens then maybe he could somehow convince his weird-ass father to let him move somewhere very far away… maybe America, or Australia. Yeah! Nobody would follow him there!

Just as he was about to turn to Urahara and double check to make sure this wasn't going to be broadcasted _worldwide_, he only then realized that he was completely alone.

What… The… _Hell_.

One second the place is crowded, and the next its empty! That's so weird…

Ichigo hummed in thought as he turned back around in his seat, but he nearly jumped out of skin when he saw that someone was sitting in the chair right in front of him.

The teen grabbed at his heart dramatically while taking in a few gasping breaths.

"JEEZ! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He wheezed before finally calming down enough to look over the guy.

After noticing the large dark-blue hoodie that nearly covered the guy's entire face, Ichigo recognized him.

"Nova? Is that you?" Ichigo wondered as he peered closer at the modsoul, but the shy guy only zipped up his hoodie in order to hide his blushing face. "Hey~ Don't be so shy! C'mon, lemme see you." Ichigo called out as he scooted closer to him. The modsoul only shook his head and remained silent.

Ichigo pouted and reached out to lightly touch the guy's knee in order to get his attention, but he immediately removed his hand when he felt Nova flinch. "Ahw, c'mon. I'm not going to hurt you or anything. Can you please take off the hoodie so we can talk? You can just unzip it if you want; I only want to look you in the eye when I'm talking to you." Ichigo explained as he shifted in his chair so he could pull his skirt down, because it was starting to slowly creep up his thighs.

It was silent for a few moments, but then Nova finally reached up and slowly unzipped his hoodie. He even opened it up a little further than usual so Ichigo could clearly see his bright teal eyes and blood-red bangs.

"Heh, that's much better, thank you." Ichigo said with a small smile, which made Nova avert his gaze and blush slightly. "So~ were you the one who got rid of those… hooligans? (For lacking a better word to describe them)" The modsoul silently eyed the orange-headed teen before nodding in affirmative. "Oh? I'm guessing you used your cool power to teleport or… travel through dimensions or something… Am I right?" Ichigo thought aloud and Nova nodded again. "Hmm… not very talkative are you?" Ichigo hummed, but he still had that small smile on his face, even when Nova still remained silent. "Well, that's alright. I'd rather hang out with you then Aizen or Kenpachi, that's for damn sure, and its okay if you don't talk a lot, I'm not usually this talkative either." The teen rambled as he tried to think of what else to say.

Ichigo paused in his thinking when he heard Nova's voice, but it was too soft to figure out what he was saying, and the hoodie wasn't really helping.

"Huh? I'm sorry, but I didn't catch what you said." Ichigo blinked and leaned forward to try and hear the modsoul more clearly.

Nova fidgeted in his seat for a second before clearing his throat and saying a little louder, "I know you've probably already heard this from the others but… you look nice."

Ichigo's face instantly turned bright red.

Yeah, sure, the others have said he looked hot or sexy or pretty, but Nova had seemed so cute when he said it, and Ichigo couldn't help but blush.

"Thanks." He mumbled as he fidgeted in his seat, then he tried to pull down the skirt so it covered more of his legs, but he was stopped by another hand covering his. The teen slowly looked up passed his orange bangs to see that Nova had scooted closer.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Nova began moving closer then he quickly pulled down the bottom half of his hoodie so that his face was fully uncovered, then he leaned forward until his lips pressed against Ichigo's gently.

The teen was too shocked by this to react immediately, but once he was about to move back, Nova had disappeared using his weird dimension power.

"That was… strange." Ichigo mumbled as he reached up to brush his fingers against his lips. "But I have to admit, he looks pretty cool without the hoodie." He chuckled and stood up. Dusting off his skirt, he began to make his way towards the door, assuming that his and Nova's date was now over.

"Oi! Who's next!" He called out once he opened the door. He walked outside and noticed that there were only a few people there.

Hitsugaya, Ishida, Rukia and Orihime.

Ichigo guessed that Hitsugaya and Ishida were the ones he had left to talk to.

'_But wait a second… shouldn't there be one more person?'_

He thought about it for a second but then shrugged it off when he saw Hitsugaya walking towards him.

"Hi, Toshiro." Ichigo greeted with a mock salute.

Said captain scowled and instantly snapped, "It's Hitsugaya-taichou to—…. You know what, never mind." He sighed, then just smiled a little and nodded to the teen before walking into the room. Ichigo just shrugged and followed him inside, closing the door behind him.

Right as the door shut, Shirosaki walked back into the large living-room area.

He was about to walk over to where he had been talking to Hitsugaya and Ikkaku, but froze when he saw that they were gone.

"What the… Where the hell did they go? And that modsoul too? Don't tell me they already got to see Ichi!" He whined as he crawled over to Ishida, who was busy sewing something.

The Quincy merely ignored the sobbing hollow that clung to his leg.

"WHYYY!!? I wanted to see my strawberry after Grimmjow! That bastard probably took poor Ichi's virginity!" He continued to whine, but he stopped when Ishida finally kicked him away.

"Don't be absurd. That stupid feline probably doesn't even know what the meaning of 'sex' is." The brunette grumbled as he went back to his sewing.

Shiro cackled and then replied, "You're probably right, but I'm pretty sure he knows what 'fucking' means!"

**_Back with Ichi~~!!!_**

Both Ichigo and Hitsugaya had just made themselves comfortable in their respective seats, and are now looking at each other, wondering who should break the silence first.

This is when Ichigo remembered that his question sheet was missing.

"Damn, stupid question sheet…" He hissed under his breath as he crossed his arms and swerved around in his seat to look around thoroughly.

But his search was cut short when a piece of paper was held up right in front of his face.

He quickly leaned back in his chair to take a better look at the flimsy paper.

"Ah, there it is! Thanks! Wait… Where'd you find it???" Ichigo said while retrieving the paper from the white-haired captain.

"Well… let's just say I confiscated it from the 'brainless-duo'."

Ichigo peered at Hitsugaya over the paper with a curious brow raised and he was about to ask who he was really talking about, but… then again, he probably didn't want to know.

"Okay so, let's see here." He mumbled instead as his gaze dropped back to the typed words.

That's when he noticed some penciled in writing at the very bottom. The handwriting was sloppy, and Ichigo had an irking feeling that it was Grimmjow's doing—and it would make sense, since the blue-haired espada would fit the 'brainless-duo' title perfectly.

Hitsugaya saw Ichigo's eyes roam across the page, only to pause at the bottom.

He sighed—he knew that he should've erased the stupid espada's writing before returning it to the teen, but then he would've missed the chance to see the hotheaded boy's reaction.

As if on cue said berry blushed madly and glared daggers at the piece of paper before shredding it to smithereens…

"WHAT THE HELL!? Stupid asshole, of course I don't do gross shit like that!!"

Judging by his reaction, Toshiro could tell that Ichigo had just finished reading the question about the 'Blow jobs'.

He sighed and rolled his bright ice blue eyes before retaking his seat and waving a hand in front of the berry to get his attention.

"Ichigo, we don't have much time, so I'd appreciate it if you'd save your tantrums for later." He said with a frown.

Ichigo had immediately stopped fuming and a guilty flush broke out on his face. He then quickly nodded in agreement and cleared his throat so he could say, "Okay so… Uhm…. Your first question is…" Ichigo closed his eyes and mentally grabbed at random questions that popped into his head. "Well, have you ever been in a relationship with anyone?" He asked curiously.

He knew from experience that it wasn't fun to be treated like you were too young to have experienced anything, but he was truly curious, and not just because Toshiro looked too young to be trying to 'woo' someone… Yeah, okay, maybe that was mostly the reason why Ichigo asked.

He just found it very difficult remembering about the fact that Hitsugaya's age easily surpassed his own by a few centuries… along with every other Shinigami and Espada after him.

The icy captain seemed to immediately catch on to Ichigo's thought-process, because his only answer was a cold glare and a cross of the arms that said, 'Are you trying to insult me?'

Ichigo laughed sheepishly and scratched at the back of his head.

"Sorry Toshiro, I just find it hard to believe… not that you're not sweet enough to go out with, but you just look so… young." He explained, but when Toshiro's glare hardened further, he quickly averted his eyes and mumbled a quiet apology.

The white-haired captain sighed once again—letting all his pent up anger wash away with his exhale.

"It's fine. You're just curious, there's no harm in wanting to know more about your bachelors." He reasoned and waited until Ichigo's soft auburn eyes met with his once more before continuing. "I was in one other relationship…" The teen blinked and watched as Toshiro's eyes glazed over and lost himself in his memories. "With Gin Ichimaru…" The room went quiet for a while as Ichigo patiently waited for Hitsugaya to return to the real world.

He understood that Gin was a sensitive topic, so he didn't want to bother the captain for answers, knowing that it was probably a painful part of his past.

"Ah, sorry Kurosaki." The white-haired shinigami gasped when he realized that he had let himself drift off into his memories again, and in front of someone else no less.

The teen only shook his head and gave a soft, though crooked smile. "Don't worry about Toshiro, and you can call me Ichigo. Though I really, _really_ thank you for not using those stupid nicknames that the others have been calling me." He chuckled and the captain couldn't help but smile back—there was just something about the teen that made people feel like you could really trust him and even let your guard down and relax. Hitsugaya only now noticed how comforting Ichigo's presence seemed, and that's probably due to the fact that he had only seen the teen when he was scowling or yelling during fights. But it would seem that the teen could also drop his guard around others, and he thought it was really nice to see Ichigo like this, so carefree.

"You okay? Your face looks a little red"

Hitsugaya was snapped out of his musings when Ichigo reached over and placed a hand on his small forehead. The captain went frigid from the contact and blinked up at Ichigo once he removed his warm hand.

"Well, you don't have a fever. Should I get Rukia in here to take a look at you?" The berry asked, a hint of worry lacing his voice, but Toshiro just shook his head. "You sure?"

He nodded.

Ichigo peered at the others face for a minute before shrugging.

"Okay well I guess I should go ahead and ask you another question… Uuhhh… What's your biggest pet peeve?" Ichigo asked, a slight smirk resting upon his lips.

Hitsugaya blinked and hummed in thought as he leaned back his chair. He kicked his feet in the air a bit (seeing as they didn't really touch the ground, due to his short-ness) and tapped his chin.

What _were_ his pet peeves…?

Well, he always disliked it whenever someone he barely knew refers to him by his first name, like they were BFF's or something… (Pointed look at Ichigo, who is oblivious to said look.)

Matsumoto not doing her work… that was definitely one.

Ikkaku and Renji randomly barging into his office drunk…

When Momo always tries to get him to do some of her chores…

Aha!

"I hate it whenever Urahara and Ukitake try to smother and bribe me with candy…" He growled, remembering how he was almost buried alive with how much those two smothered him with.

Of course, he always ended up giving it all to Momo.

He didn't really have a big sweet tooth, but an occasional piece of chocolate coated caramel was too good to pass up.

"Hm. Yeah, I'd see why. And I'm not surprised that Kisuke would try to bribe people with candy… stupid pedo…" Ichigo mumbled and gave Toshiro a sympathetic look.

Said captain was just getting ready to say something, but was interrupted when the door opened to reveal a certain Rukia Kuchiki.

"Okay guys! Time's up!" She announced and they both sighed.

Ichigo was actually starting to like the fact that he was getting to know the ever mysterious and normally brash captain better. But oh well. He had like one more person to go right? Then he'd be free.

And the first thing he was going to do was rip off this damned skirt and throw it in a volcano… Oh don't worry, he'd find one somewhere…

Hitsugaya slowlygot up, brushed off his pants and then raised a hand towards the bewildered teen.

He sighed and was about to explain to the dense berry that he wanted to shake his hand so he could leave, but he promptly shut his mouth and widened his eyes when he was suddenly pulled into the taller shinigami's arms. The teen continued to give the frozen captain a warm hug for a second longer before releasing him. He then raised a hand to ruffle his frosty white hair playfully.

"I had a nice time, Toshiro. Thanks." Ichigo said before turning to yell at Rukia for something or another.

Hitsugaya merely nodded stiffly then immediately turned on his heels and bolted out of the doorway before anyone could see his blushing face.

~TBC~

* * *

_**~~~~~~TALLYS FOR BACHELORS~~~~~~~  
**  
--Grimmjow J. +38  
--Stark +35  
-Hichigo (Shirosaki) +17  
--Byakuya K. +6  
-Hitsugaya T. +6  
--Shuuhei Hisagi +4  
--Shinji H. +2  
--Renji A. +2  
--Nova +2  
--Chad Y. +2  
--Kenpachi Z. -1  
--Ikkaku M. -3  
--Aizen S. -4  
-Uryuu Ishida -5  
_

YAY~~~

Grimmy!!!! i'm so proud of you!!~~

; 3;

Shiro! *scolds* what the hell happened!?

D:

Shiro: -glares at minsra-.... it's your damn fault... i still haven't gotten any time with berry-chan... -cries-

o 3o;;;

you'll be next! i promise!!!! -cries-


	9. Ch3 last prt: A Heart to Hollow Heart

**author's note:** **QUESTION:** The next chapter is going to be the one where two of the bachelors will be kicked off... and we pretty much know who they are going to be... but anyway, my question is... should i start the tallys over when they get eliminated? or should i just keep adding on to the ones now? (In my opinion i think we should just start them over... and this time it would be one + vote per person, to make it fair)

* * *

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_**++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++**_

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_Chapter 3: A Heart to…. Heart [Last Part]_

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Ishida peered over his glasses casually, glancing away from his game of 'Sudoku' when the door opened to reveal a flushed and frazzled looking Hitsugaya. Both the Quincy and albino hollow silently watched as Rukia walked up to the captain to begin explaining where he needed to go now.

"Just up the stairs and to the rightthere should be some large double doors. The other bachelors are all waiting inside that room." She said with a small smile, which Toshiro returned with a nod of his head. He then turned and began making his way up the long stairway, soon disappearing from sight.

Shiro let out an amused hum, which went along nicely with the smirk that was present on his pale lips.

The noise instantly caught Rukia and Ishida's attention.

"Should I even bother asking what you find so funny?" The Quincy sighed with a shake of his head, dark raven locks swaying gracefully with the movement.

The hollow raised a brow at the other's curiosity before a huge grin broke out on his face.

"I find it both amusing and amazing that we haven't really heard any commotion going on upstairs. I coulda sworn that Kenpachi and Grimmjow would've collapsed a few walls by now." He answered with another hum, making Ishida raise a brow in disbelief by the mere fact that the hollow had actually brought up an excellent point.

At this, both men turned to the small Kuchiki for an explanation, since she would probably be the cause of anything and everything abnormal that happens in this place, but all she did was grin an evil, mischievous grin that made even Shiro shrink back a little.

"Oh… You'll find out soon enough…" She chirped, making them all the more suspicious.

Shiro, thinking fast, quickly went for the door that led to Ichigo, but wasn't fast enough for Ishida, who pushed him out of the way so he could run into the room and slam the door shut behind him—right in Shirosaki's face.

The albino gulped, and he slowly turned his head, his golden eyes going wide as he eyed Rukia warily.

'_fuck…_'

~**With The Bachelors**~

Behind the double doors, in the large waiting room that Rukia had been talking about, sat all the Bachelors (minus Ishida and Shiro).

Everyone was unusually silent—even Renji wasn't tapping his feet impatiently like he had done before.

Nope.

It was just really, really quiet.

…

No one even looked at each other, because they were too afraid that they would end up making some kind of noise if they did.

…

…

More silence…

…

……..

"OKAY THA'S IT! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Roared a frustrated sexta-espada as he hopped up onto both his feet, making the chair he had been sitting on slide and topple over.

All eyes just looked up at the fuming hollow—but it was too late for the poor lad.

He had broken the silence.

(And would you like to know what happened to him?

Well… So would I.

It went by too fast to even describe.)

Everyone blinked as the man collapsed to the ground, right next to his fallen chair. He was desperately gasping for air, his nails digging into the floor and a large bruise was beginning to form by his temple, making a few bachelors wince in sympathy.

After a few minutes, he went unconscious and it was silent once again.

'_Shit… That was intense…'_ Renji thought as his crimson eyes dropped back to the tabletop, only to snap back up at the sound of the double doors opening.

A small white head slowly peeked into the room, surprised to find that everyone was sitting around a huge table and… behaving themselves.

"Uhmm… Where do I sit?" Toshiro asked as he gradually made his way towards the table, but no one answered him—they all merely looked around the room expectantly, (Except for Starrk and Grimmjow, because they weren't really awake.) as if they were waiting for something bad to happen.

When nothing did, Renji cleared his throat to catch the captain's attention.

"You can sit over here." He said while pointing to the empty seat beside him.

The white haired shinigami nodded and began making his way around the table, but paused when he noticed Grimmjow lying motionless on the floor.

"What happened to him…?" He asked Renji once he was seated and motioned towards the fallen man with a flick of his head.

The redhead was silent for a second as he thought over how exactly he could explain what had just happened.

"He couldn't follow the rules…" Byakuya answered with a bored sigh, his expression remaining cool and indifferent.

"Eh…?"

"We aren't allowed to get too loud or talk too much… or else they attack us…" Shuuhei offered for the confused captain, but that only created more questions, not answers.

"Who're th—" He was cut off when he heard a gruff groan erupted from behind him. Everyone turned and watched as Grimmjow slowly came back to consciousness. Deep blue eyes looked around blearily, eyelids barely open and then strong hands pushed on the ground to help him sit up. The espada huffed and shook his head to clear the haziness, making blue hair flutter, and then he attempted to stand up on wobbly legs—only to fall back to his knees. His hands automatically shot out towards the floor to catch himself before his face could slap against the tiles.

When he tried to stand up again with a pained groan, Starrk was the one to stand up and help him.

The 1st espada sighed and wrapped an arm around Grimmjow's waist and slid one of the sexta's arms over his shoulders so the other could lean on him for support.

Once Grimmjow was finally settled down into a seat, he snarled and looked around the room for any signs of another attack.

"I swear if I ge' my hands on those lil' monsters then m'gonna strangle 'em then throw 'em into a deep dark pit o' fire so they can burn ta death, then m'gonna mold their ashes inta statues just so I can break 'em into lil' tiny pieces again." He grumbled under his breath with a sneer on his lips which bared his sharp teeth in a threatening way.

"So who're you guys talking about…?" Hitsugaya asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

But who _wouldn't_ be curious about knowing about the people who were able to control this particular group.

Everyone turned to eye him and it was Kenpachi who answered this time, and, of course, he had on an amused yet devious smirk.

"Oh… You'll find out soon enough." He drawled smoothly, his deep voice rumbling across the spacious room.

And as if on cue, there was a flash of movement near the balcony window, but it disappeared too fast for anyone to get a good look at what it was.

Then practically everyone flinched at the sound of high pitched giggling which bounced across the walls and gave it a mystical-echoey sound.

"Who…?" Hitsugaya started, but his voice died in his suddenly dry throat, when he felt something—or rather some_one_—plop onto his small lap. He blinked slowly then hesitantly looked down, only to have his vision engulfed by the sight of two pairs of large curious eyes right near his own.

"…Yachiru? Nel?"

**~~~~~~~~~~With Ichigo~~~~~~~~~~**

"I-Ichigo?"

Said teen's auburn eyes peered up through orange bangs and blinked innocently—looking much like a kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Yeah?" He said through a mouthful of chocolates.

Ishida could only blink as he watched the bachelorette swallow and lick at his chocolate covered fingers sensually. The usually calm Quincy gulped audibly as one finger actually disappeared into that luscious mouth, lips sucking it clean.

"You're… eating candy…" Ishida whispered—as if it was some big secret—, and a blush rose to his cheeks.

Ichigo had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

'_Thanks for the update, captain obvious…_'

Instead of saying that though, the teen nodded his head and lifted the box of chocolates that Shuuhei had given him towards the other.

"Would you like some? They're _so_ good~" He smiled before sliding two more fingers into his mouth and moaning at the delicious taste.

The sexy scene that Ichigo was creating was too much for Ishida's poor mind, and he promptly fainted—due to the fact that his blood couldn't make up its mind on whether it should flow to his face or to his cock.

The strawberry watched in amusement as the normally-stoic-teen's eyes rolled to the back of his head and collapsed to the floor, his glasses flying off and towards the door.

'_Woah… I can't believe it actually worked… I should've just done this to the other bachelors…'_ Ichigo thought, speechless, as he got up and bent over the unconscious teen's motionless form. He snapped his fingers and waved in front of the other's face, and he even lightly tapped the still flushed cheeks to make sure Ishida was actually passed out.

'_but… now that I think about it, Grimmjow and Aizen probably would've just jumped me instead of fainting…'_

Satisfied that Ishida was 'dead to the world', Ichigo stood back up and hummed happily before turning on his heels and starting towards the exit.

He was so happy that he practically _skipped_ over to the door, not that he'd ever admit it though.

Once he reached the door, he slammed it open and let out a small victorious shout, thinking that his 'dates' were finally over with.

Oh but how wrong he was…

~*~*~*~*~***Back With The Bachelorsssss**~*~*~*~*~*~

"Yachiru is hungry!"

"Nel is too!"

Both small-ish beings began to bounce around on the table, and then the pink haired one shot hers eyes towards Byakuya, who was trying really hard to keep his cool.

"Yachiru wants candy!!" She squealed before lunging towards the poor captain.

"Yachiru needs ta stop talkin' in the third person 'fore Grimmjow beats her lil' face in…" The sexta espada growled with a sneer as he glared heatedly at the pink haired child.

"… K-kitty… ish bein' mean!" Nel burst into tears and then began to beat her tiny fists against Grimmjow's forehead.

The blue haired hollow really, honestly, TRULY, tried to keep his temper in check—because he knew that if he really hurt Nel or Yachiru then he'd have Ichigo chewing him out, and that would not gain him any good points.

But… when globs of snot and spit begin to poor all in your hair, and tiny fingers tug at your nose and eyebrows…

Well… How much would you be able to stand?

"Tha's IT!"

He was about to take hold of that mop of greenish hair that belonged to demon twin #1, but his hand was caught in mid strike by another hand… but this hand was huge, and strong… and it was now starting to crush his BONES!

Grimmjow hissed in pain and then snatched his wounded appendage back before looking up to glare at the long, scarred face of Kenpachi.

"The hell was tha' for…?" He grumbled as he nursed his hand, brooding all the while.

The shinigami didn't answer; he merely snatched up Nel and Yachiru and placed them both on his shoulders.

"HEH HEH! Kenny took care of dat big bad kitty!" Yachiru cheered, making Nel giggle and clap.

"Yer just a big fuckin' softy for kids, 'aint ya Zaraki!?" Grimmjow snapped at the man's retreating back. "Fucking pansy…" He mumbled under his breath before glaring at the others at the table. "Anybody else wanna add a comment?"

There were multiple sighs that erupted when a hand actually rose.

"Yea, Shinji…?"

"Why does she keep calling you 'kitty'?"

Grimmjow blinked for a second, and everyone silently waited to see his reaction.

A large grin broke onto his face, and his eyes narrowed—the same look he used before every fight.

"Why don't I jus' show ya?"

…

**))))(((( BackToIchi-Beryy!! ))))((((**

"…"

"…"

"YOU!" Ichigo exclaimed loudly while thrusting his finger towards the smirking white figure standing before him.

"Yeah, I am you. How'd ya know?" Shiro chuckled lightly at the berry's flustered expression.

"NO! Get back in my head! Now!" Ichigo snarled then lunged forward and gripped the front of the albino's clothes. Shiro merely looked down at the teen, golden eyes flashing.

"I don't think I will~" Shiro said smoothly and continued before Ichigo could retort. "Oh, is that Ishida lying dead on the floor? Guess it's my turn to have my way with you~" The hollow cackled, making Ichigo release him and quickly jump away, as if he'd been burnt.

"NOT YOU TOO!" He was about to turn and run for it, but was unable to, due to the strong white arm that latched around his waist. His feet and arms dangled below him, and the only thing keeping him up was Shiro's arm holding him to the side.

Ichigo's sides and stomach protested at the awkward hold, and he felt that if he moved too much then he'd fall forward on his face, which wasn't a very pleasant thought.

The teen's head shot up when he felt Shiro leaning back, and then his face turned bright red when he realized that his captor was trying to get a look at his bottom—and it would be easy since the skirt wasn't fairing well in this awkward position.

"PERV! Put me down!" Ichigo scolded, but he didn't get to say much else because Shiro began to Shunpo out of the room. "Where are you taking me?!"

Shiro merely smiled, his face unusually peaceful, but it didn't last long—the perverted leer was now back.

"Oh, you'll see~"

A few more speedy shunpo's and Ichigo found himself on top of the roof of the huge mansion, looking down at the beautiful gardens below.

Carefully leaning forward on the ledge to see how far up he was, Ichigo asked, "Why are we here…?"

Shiro just shrugged and patted the shingles beside him, motioning for Ichi to sit down, which he did—while making sure to tug his skirt down so it wouldn't ride up.

"Just thought would like some fresh air, ya know? To get out of that room where you've been stuck with all those other bastards." He answered with a nonchalant shrug. Ichigo examined his usually psychotic hollow critically.

"Why're you being so…." Ichigo couldn't think of the right word to describe how his hollow was acting and he didn't know whether to be happy or scared of this new side of Shiro. Then the hollow surprised the teen again by gently gripping a tan hand and bringing it to his pale lips. Ichigo blinked dumbly when he felt those pale lips brush against his knuckles.

"Why am I being so… Charming?" Shiro ventured as he gripped the teen's hand and placed over his own cold, white cheek.

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'weird'." Ichigo chuckled at Shirosaki's pout and then he began to thread his fingers through that soft white hair. "But I guess you're pretty charming too… when you're not being a complete asshole." He continued, but the hollow was no longer listening, he seemed so distracted by the feeling of the teen's fingers that were now lightly tracing the outline of his face, as if memorizing each familiar curve of the chin and cheeks. "You know… It's strange how you look just like me—minus color—yet it doesn't seem awkward being around you like this." Ichigo thought aloud as he trailed his thumb across a thin eyebrow.

"I know what you mean." Shiro said and his smirk grew, which made Ichigo snatch his hand back and glare suspiciously—but it was too late.

The albino quickly pounced on his skirt-clad prey, making sure to press his hips against the other's squirming ones to keep him still. "It doesn't feel strange at all~? Even if I do this?" Shiro asked as he began to grind against the teen, making him blush madly and struggle even more for escape.

"Get off me you son of a—"

Shiro quickly pressed his lips against Ichigo's, silencing him, and the teen reacted by struggling a few more minutes before finally giving in.

Hey, it wasn't like Shirosaki hasn't tried this shit in the past, but he had never actually went this far before.

The teen suppressed a gasp when he felt cold hands travel up his thighs and he clenched his teeth when a blue tongue began to dab at his closed lips. Then when the hollow began to shift to get in a better position, Ichigo took that as his opportunity to push off his molester—which he did.

Shiro growled low in his throat, and a predatory glint lit within his golden irises.

"Don't even THINK about it!" Ichigo snapped, growling as well.

He knew that his hollow was no pushover and if he wanted something he wouldn't just give up on it, and (as if to prove his point) next thing the berry knew, he was being pressed against the roof, his face connecting with the soft red shingles. He was about to threaten Shiro again, but it died in his throat when said hollow began to grope his ass from under the skirt, and those pale hands even went as far as to slink around his waist to palm his cock—which, unfortunately for Ichigo, was starting to harden, and he didn't think that the thin panties he was wearing would stay intact if his erection got any harder.

"Quit it" Ichigo whined, his blush growing a bright cherry-red, as he tried to pry his hollow's hands away.

"Why should I? I bet Grimmjow got to do this to you." Shiro growled then pinned the teen's hands just above his orange head after he forced Ichigo onto his knees, making that skirt-clad ass clearly visible.

Ichigo squeaked when he felt knees spreading his legs apart.

"What does that have to do with anything you pervert?!"

Shiro ignored the retort and instead began to lick and nip at the slightly tan neck.

Both men froze when they suddenly felt the whole mansion shake, then a familiar reiatsu began to flare out of control, making Shiro instinctively cover Ichigo's whole body with his own to protect the teen.

Ichigo's eyes widened when a body suddenly crashed through the roof, right in front of them, sending shingles and pieces of wood flying in all directions. Then he just groaned in annoyance when he recognized the body to be Shinji—who was now lying motionless in the gardens.

The teen nearly sighed, but it caught in his throat when he saw someone else jump through the gaping hole in front of them.

"Well, speak of the devil." Shirosaki hissed when he noticed the long, bright-blue hair.

"Grimmjow, why are you in your release form..?" Ichigo asked, ignoring the fact that his hollow was still on top of him.

Said arrancar snapped his head towards the two and his eyes narrowed dangerously at the albino form, tail twitching in anger.

"The hell ya doin' ta my mate, chalk-face?" Grimmjow hissed, making Shirosaki hiss back, sounding just as animalistic.

Ichigo groaned in annoyance when the two instantly began to fight—bare handed, no less.

"Screw this…" Ichigo sighed, and as the two were busy slapping each other, he snuck his way down the hole through the roof and back inside to find Rukia.

All the while trying to keep his skirt in place and will his erection away.

* * *

Murrr....

Imma not very satisfied with this

idk

I think i just rushed through it

but i still hope you guys liked it

:'D

And i know i am so mean to Ishida and Shinji... i can't help it

~~~~~~~

BACHELOR TALLYS

--Grimmjow J. +55  
--Stark +44  
--Hichigo (Shirosaki) +24  
--Hitsugaya T. +15  
--Nova +7  
--Shuuhei Hisagi +7  
--Byakuya K. +6  
--Chad Y. +3  
--Renji A. +2  
--Shinji H. +1  
--Kenpachi Z. -3  
--Ikkaku M. -5  
--Uryuu Ishida -6  
--Aizen S. -7

~~~~~~

Holy shit Grimmjow just sped past Starrk

xDD

GO GRIMMY~!

Grimmjow: Hell yea!

Ichigo: -sighs-

Shiro: -kidnaps Ichigo while Grimmjow is busy doing victory dance and rubbing it in Starrk's face-

Starrk: ZzzzzZZZzzzz... -wakes up-.. my berry senses are tingling...


	10. Ch4: The Dreaded Elimination

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**++--*--~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~--*--++**

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Chapter 4: Time For The Dreaded Elimination

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"Finally…" Ichigo sighed dramatically as he stared at himself in the mirror. He stood there clad in jeans and a nicely fitting t-shirt. As soon as Rukia had ushered him back into the room, Yoruichi had randomly appeared with some new clothes, and the teen was more than happy to change out of that dreaded skirt. The only bad part was that Yoruichi had to stay in the room while he was changing—just to make sure that he didn't try to escape or anything. Ichigo felt uncomfortable changing in front of her (Not that she hadn't already seen him naked due to certain bathhouse incidents which involved lots of yelling and flying shampoo bottles…), but it was so worth it getting back into those soft denim pants that actually covered his long legs.

"Feel better?" The dark skinned woman asked as she leaned back against the door, her arms crossed under her large bosom, making her look rather relaxed.

Ichigo slowly turned and eyed her with bored auburn eyes, but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, much better. But I would've been more comfortable if you were in cat form or something… perv…" Ichigo grumbled the last part under his breath, but apparently she still heard him, because she started to chuckle, but she didn't say anything else. "So…" Ichigo continued while looking down at the floor and sitting down on the bed that stood behind him. "What's going to happen next?" He asked, wanting to be prepared for any future weird-ness.

Yoruichi slowly opened one golden eye to look at him, but then she closed it again, and a small—though evil—smile spread on her lips. It gave a certain orange-headed teen the heebie-jeebies.

"Rukia should be ushering all the bachelors to the elimination room right about now." She said, her face holding nothing but amusement.

"Wait, what? So she's going to eliminate some of the bachelors?" Ichigo said hopefully, a small hint of optimism shimmering in his eyes.

Yoruichi shook her head, and answered; "Nope. You have to go there and choose three bachelors who you think should be eliminated. Once you do, those three will never be allowed to come back and you won't have to worry about them. But in the next eliminations, you will only be allowed to eliminate one at a time, so choose wisely."

Ichigo seemed a little disappointed at first, because he had to be the one to choose, but then he smirked and began mentally listing all the bachelors off in his head.

Along with the good and bad moments.

_Aizen: Man, he was a real bastard. Trying to blackmail me into choosing him and making it seem like it would be my fault if any of my friends got hurt now. Ugh… I should just make him leave. But what if he really does hurt someone…? _

_Chad: Aw, Chad. I'm glad he came to this, even though it is a little weird that my friend has had a crush on me for kami knows how long… But I can always trust and depend on him for anything, even if he isn't good with words._

_Stark: I've never actually met the guy before, but he seemed really sweet, even charming. Though he also seemed a little… lazy I guess. But that's not really a problem, my friends and family cause enough excitement to make up for that…_

_Hitsugaya: He might_ _seem like a little kid, but I know he's so smart and level-headed. He's also really cute and I know that he's no push-over. It seems like he has some relationship issues, but he came here to get closer to me, so that proves that he's willing to try to have a relationship with me. _

_Byakuya: Man, he's a stuck-up asshole, but he's so pretty… Yeah, but he thinks he's so cool and more amazing than everyone else! But his hair looks so soft… No Ichigo! Don't be distracted by his good looks!_

_Shinji: Gawd, he acted like some kind of dog in heat! I know he can be a little… clingy, but that was a little too much! But I know he's really strong, and he can be serious when he has to… Maybe I should let him stay, just to see if he'll calm down enough to take this seriously._

_Renji: I actually didn't expect him to come. I thought maybe he was still hung up on Byakuya and Rukia. But then again, I should've expected it—ever since that closet incident… -insert blush here- And he's like my best friend too. Sure we bicker a lot, but it's all fun and games, and I know he would make a good and loyal boyfriend. Huh… I've never really thought of him like this before, but now that I do, he seems like a good choice. Well, maybe. I'll just have to make sure to cover my legs around him… leg fetish… -snort, laugh-_

_Kenpachi: Woah, I knew he liked__to chase me around a lot, but I NEVER would've imagined that he thought of me in a… romantic way? He's just… huge… and giant… and well, intimidating! And fighting is probably what he likes to call 'foreplay'! _

_Grimmjow: … -insert another blush here-… okay, originally I would've just kicked him out and told him to leave… but he surprised me by actually being… well I wouldn't call it 'nice', but he honestly seemed like he wanted to be with me. And damn he can kiss. He also kind of helped me out with Aizen. Maybe Grimmjow isn't such a bad guy… he just sort of needs to let out some of that frustration? Well, I would be a little cranky too if I was being bossed around by Aizen. _

_Shuuhei: He sure knew how to make an entrance, and he was very thoughtful to bring those chocolates. I've only really hung out with him while he was drunk with the others, but now that I've actually talked to him while he's sober, he seems pretty cool._

_Ishida: Sure, he's a good friend, but I highly doubt that he'd make a good partner… He's too controlling, and… well, he's got all kinds of Quincy pride that he'll just shove in my face. I'm not sure I should let him stay… _

_Nova: He's really, really shy and he doesn't really talk a lot. I just hope that he can open up a bit more around me. If he can't then I don't think I'd want to go out with him. And he really is rather handsome behind that hood. _

_Shirosaki: Now, I know that he was being unusually quiet recently, but I NEVER would've thought that he would just materialize out of nowhere and be a part of this…this… 'Game'. I'll just have to keep an eye on him, especially around Grimmjow. Who knows what kind of damage they could cause. At least they're not on the same team or anything… if they were friends, then I'd fear for all the other bachelors' sanity. _

_Ikkaku: … I don't really know what to think about him. He's pretty much cheating on Yumichika by being here, and they make a really cute couple… maybe I should just make him go home—back to Yumi. I'm not really that interested in the baldy anyway._

Ichigo snapped his eyes open, a new sense of determination flaring inside him. His gaze slowly roamed around until they rested upon Yoruichi's still form. "I'm ready…" He said, causing her to open her eyes and smile.

"It's about time." She snapped, but there was a playful hint to her voice, that made Ichigo chuckle.

**696969696969~~~MEANWHILE WITH THE BACHELORS~~~696969696969**

Right along the far side of the new, and rather large, room, in one long line, stood all fourteen bachelors. And Rukia was even bored enough to place them in order from shortest to tallest.

Of course, Toshiro wasn't too happy about this kind of arrangement…

"Okay you guys, Ichigo should be down shortly to eliminate three of you." Rukia explained as she paced back and forth in front of the assembled men, looking much like a drill sergeant.

Tension and uneasiness seemed to thicken the air, making it hard for some to even breathe. What made it worse was that they had no idea that that many guys would be eliminated, nor did they realize that it would happen so soon. The only ones who seemed unaffected by the news were Shirosaki, Aizen, and Kenpachi—if their confident and smug grins were anything to go by…

"What'll happen if we are eliminated?" A Shinji asked, and they could tell he was really nervous by the way he shivered.

Rukia stopped pacing and snapped her deep blue eyes towards the blond, a mischievous smile dancing across her glossy lips. "You'll see." Was all she said, making the vizard gulp audibly, and just as she began pacing again, the double doors flew open.

In walked Yoruichi, her long dark hair flowing gracefully behind her, and her piercing golden eyes held an amused glint to them. Next to come tumbling in was Matsumoto, her bosom and face wasn't really visible through the bushel of roses she carried. And the last person to walk in was the one and only Ichigo Kurosaki.

All the bachelors' eyes went straight to the teen, who made the whole room light up. It seemed like the orange-head had regained a lot of his lost pride and confidence now that he was no longer wearing that small, revealing skirt. All the tension and weariness that began to stick to everyone vanished under Ichigo's calming presence, but the bachelors' mood darkened once again when a certain young Kuchiki began clearing her throat loudly to get their attention.

It was silent as everyone waited for the three newcomers to walk to the other side of the room and once they did, Rukia immediately began talking.

"Alright guys. Here's how this is going to work! Ichigo is going to call up the name of the bachelors that will not be leaving. When your name is called out, Ichigo will explain why he wants you to stay, and then you will come over and receive a rose from the amazing bachelorette." At this she paused when said teen growled at her, but she merely shrugged it off. "Good luck. I'll be back to get the remaining Bachelors." She giggled as she made her way out of the room, the door closing silently behind her.

Matsumoto giggled lightly, breaking the silence and then she happily handed Ichigo the first rose. The teen remained silent for a second as he twirled the crimson flower between his long fingers, and a sense of nervousness seemed to wash over him as all eyes watched him expectantly. But he steeled himself and everyone seemed to hold their breath in anticipation as the luscious berry finally opened his mouth.

"Renji."

A certain redheaded lieutenant immediately looked up with wide eyes and he couldn't stop the shout of victory from coming out. His fist flew into the air in excitement and not even the multiple glares he was now receiving could shift his giddiness.

"You are one of my good friends," Ichigo continued, making the redhead quickly sober in order to pay close attention to the berry. "And I don't want to see you leave just yet, but if you can't make me see you as more than just a friend, then I'm afraid you might not make it past the next few eliminations." He warned with a stern expression—the famous scowl slipping onto his face effortlessly.

Renji quickly nodded in understanding and Ichigo was glad to see that determined look on his face, the same look he got when he was ready to face any challenge.

Everyone watched as the redhead walked forward to gently take the rose from the bachelorette. He grinned and bowed slightly before returning to his spot in the line.

Ichigo took a deep breath so he could calm himself before taking another rose from the big-breasted lieutenant. He didn't waste much time and called the next name out.

"Shinji."

Said blonde quickly let out a sigh of bliss and his knees nearly buckled in relief. Grinning broadly, he walked forward until he was almost in front of the teen, who was now eyeing him with an unreadable expression.

"Listen…" The teen snapped, making the other freeze and lock eyes with him nervously. "I like you, and I'm grateful to you for showing me how to somewhat control that crazy bastard over there." Ichigo gestured towards a certain smirking albino. "But you seriously need to control your libido, or I _will_ be forced to cut off your dick so I don't have to worry about you somehow raping me with it."

Shinji flushed in guilt/embarrassment and his grin disappeared when he heard the others snickering behind him.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad… you just need to take this a little more seriously if you want to have any chance with me." Ichigo explained, his scowl softening a little as he passed the rose to the other vizard.

Shinji seemed somewhat crest-fallen as he trudged away, but the teen could tell that he was still happy to know that he wasn't leaving at least.

Once the blond was back to his spot between Nova and Shuuhei, Ichigo cleared his throat and snatched up another rose before speaking again.

"Stark."

A soft growl erupted from Shirosaki as he watched the lazy Espada move forward with narrowed golden irises.

Stark stopped when he was just a few steps away from the berry and looked down at him while offering a small smile. The corner of Ichigo's lips twitched up in a small smile as well as he offered the rose to the man.

"Even though I just met you today, I did feel a certain connection with you. I can't explain it, but either way, I see no reason why you shouldn't stay. I hope to see a lot more of you." Ichigo said, which made the other bachelors a little (no, a lot) jealous.

Stark nodded once and all he said was, "Thank you." Then he began walking away, the crimson flower being held delicately in his gloved hand.

Short, sweet and simple. Just how Ichigo liked it.

Shaking his head he quickly called out the next name.

"Toshiro."

Said captain, who had seemed to be in a daze, snapped back into reality at the sound of his name and he then calmly began to walk forward with his head held high—all the while trying to ignore Matsumoto's excited waving.

Once close enough, he stopped and held Ichigo's soft gaze.

"I know we don't really know all that much about one another, even though we've been fighting alongside each other for a while, but I'd really like to get to know more about you." Ichigo simply said, and he had to lean down slightly to pass the flower to the captain, but neither one seemed to mind.

"Thank you." Toshiro said, and the smallest hint of a blush began to dust his cheeks, but he turned and fled back to the line before Ichigo could notice.

"Chad." The berry said, and he smiled lightly when the large Hispanic moved forward immediately. No one could see the look in his eyes past those dark wavy bangs, but Ichigo could tell that the teen was happily surprised.

"I'm actually glad you came here, and I know we have a strong connection. I can always depend on you, and I always feel at ease around you. I hope to see you more before this is all over." The bachelorette felt his smile turn a little silly as he looked up at the other teen and then he raised his hand to give him a rose. Chad nodded silently and nodded back before slowly taking the item in his large, powerful hands.

Once Chad was back to his spot, Ichigo couldn't help but notice how the other bachelors were beginning to squirm anxiously. Some had a worried expression, while others looked like they were trying to stay calm—but were failing miserably.

"Grimmjow." Ichigo called and he had an urge to shake his head when said bluenette's shoulders sagged a little with relief and a rather large grin split across his face. He walked forward with steady, confident steps and he seemed to be in no rush as he slowed to a stop right in front of the teen.

Ichigo's auburn eyes narrowed at the Espada, and his lips pursed as he tried to think of exactly what to say.

"You…" He started, making Grimmjow's smirk widen, "Were the most confusing out of all the bachelors…" The smirk shrunk a little and a light-blue brow rose quizzically.

"How so?"

Ichigo eyed the man critically as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"I always thought of you as a… well, a _brute_. But after seeing you be so polite—Okay, well maybe not **polite**—but during that whole thing I felt like you weren't being pushy or angry in any way, like you were a totally different person or something." Ichigo tried to explain, but he just _knew_ that that had sounded so much better in his head. His thoughts weren't coming out as well as he'd hoped.

Dark blue eyes narrowed in amusement as they eyed the berry's fidgeting form. Slowly, the Espada leaned forward until his face was right in front of Ichigo's, and the teen had to stop himself from backing away suspiciously.

"Well, ya tend ta do tha' ta people, Ichigo." Grimmjow said lowly, but somehow it was loud enough for most of the occupants in the room could hear. Before the carrot-top could retort, the bluenette quickly slipped the rose from the teen's lax fist and gave him a wink before walking away.

Matsumoto and Yoruichi noticed the wink and they couldn't suppress their giggles, which made Ichigo's face glow bright red.

'_It's bad enough that he actually said my name instead of those stupid nicknames, but then he had to go and wink to remind me of that kiss! I hate being attracted to jerks that're nice sometimes…' _ Ichigo had a sudden urge to chuck his shoe at the retreating hollow, but decided against it—He could always take his frustrations out on Kon or something.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he calmed himself down before calling out the next name.

"Shuuhei."

The dark-haired shinigami let out a quiet sigh of relief and he saw Matsumoto give him a thumbs up as he walked forward. He tried to keep his face expressionless, but he couldn't help the small smile from forming on his lips when he looked down at the berry's own smiling face.

"I really enjoyed talking with you today, Shuuhei. And you know, you're a really cool person when you're sober." Ichigo teased, but Shuuhei could tell that the teen was hinting to the fact that they had never actually hung out when he and the gang weren't drinking.

He heard Renji and Matsumoto chuckle knowingly at that, making him drop his gaze to the floor sheepishly.

"You don't have to look so guilty." Ichigo chuckled, and the raven-haired lieutenant shifted a little nervously, but smiled, and gratefully took the rose with a nod.

"Shirosaki."

"Ha~! I knew you wouldn't make me leave, king." The hollow chuckled victoriously and he grinned when he received multiple glares, practically soaking in the murderous intent rolling off of them with sadistic satisfaction. He also couldn't help but notice that Grimmjow seemed especially peeved about this.

Shiro was about to start walking forward, but he stopped at the sound of Ichigo's harsh voice.

"No. Stay where you are." The teen demanded and he was slightly surprised when his hollow actually did what he was told—though reluctantly.

Both beings were silent as they stared each other down, and the other bachelors didn't really know what to think as they kept moving their gazes back and forth between the two look-alikes.

"I…" Ichigo paused for a second as he tried to get the sudden lump to clear from his throat. "I have to admit that you—of all people—seem to understand me most… which isn't surprising since you're practically a part of me." He scowled down at his boot-clad feet (Yoruichi had conveniently "forgotten" to bring him a pair of sneakers… and, hell, she could've brought him sandals for all he cared.)

Shiro remained silent as he watched the berry fidget restlessly on the balls of his feet, but he smirked when those shining auburn eyes pinned him with that stubborn glare.

"I'm warning you now though Shiro, if you come over here and take this rose, and if you stay here, then you _must_ promise to keep your hands to yourself!" The teen snapped, his expression dead-serious.

The hollow's smirk quickly fell to an uneasy frown, and golden eyes narrowed in slight anger. His white head slowly tilted to the side as he considered his options, and everyone waited with their curious eyes glued to the colorless life form (all except Stark who had found a lovely corner to snooze in).

Sighing in defeat, Shirosaki finally stepped forward so he could pluck the rose from Matsumoto's grip—since Ichigo had refused to grab another one, finding it more important to keep a close eye on Shiro.

They looked at each other and sparks seemed to fly between them (whether from anger, frustration, or sexual tension—no body would know) and the hollow began talking as he lifted the crimson flower until its velvety pedals brushed his nose.

"I'm not really happy about being cockblocked, partner. But you know I'd do anything for you." A soft chuckle ghosted past his lips when he saw Ichigo's face automatically turn bright red, and before the teen could yell at him, he flash-stepped back to his original spot between Renji and Aizen, making a few jump in surprise.

Ichigo wanted to stomp his feet childishly at his hollow's attitude, but quickly brushed it off and snapped the next name.

"Nova!" He didn't realize that his voice sounded so irritated until he saw the hooded man flinch slightly, and he immediately felt guilty about it. Softening his eyes to a smooth chocolate brown, he repeated the name more calmly. "Nova, please come here. Sorry I snapped at you like that." He said, and that seemed to relax the shy modsoul enough to shuffle forward until he was in front of the shorter boy.

Ichigo smiled softly up at Nova and offered the rose, which the other took gratefully.

"I'm glad you're here Nova, and you know… you look really cute under that hoodie. And I hope you will be able to warm up to me a little more." Ichigo chuckled, and he flicked his gaze towards the hoodie that the redhead would constantly use to shut out others and hide his face.

Nova seemed to understand what Ichigo was hinting at and he nodded his head, and he whispered, "I'll try my best." And he then walked back.

When Ichigo looked back over the bachelors, he could tell that the people's whose names he hadn't called yet were getting really anxious, if their nervous sweating was anything to go by. He turned to Matsumoto and took the last two roses in one hand before returning his gaze to the others.

"If I haven't called your name yet then please take a step forward." He ordered, making Byakuya, Kenpachi, Aizen, Ikkaku and Ishida do so immediately. They waited with held breaths for Ichigo to say the next lucky bachelor's name.

"Byakuya, you surprised me by showing up. I honestly hadn't thought you had any interest in me… but if you truly want to be with me, then you're going to have to drop that superior attitude enough to make me believe that you at least care about me a little." Ichigo hummed with a scowl, but the Kuchiki only nodded as he took his rose. Ichigo sighed at the expected response from the stoic captain before shrugging indifferently.

Each remaining bachelor was now staring at the teen hopefully and Ichigo decided to keep quiet for a while (just to prolong the dramatic effect) as he teasingly tapped the rose against his chin.

Why would he torture the poor men so, you ask??

Because he _can_.

Finally Ichigo opened his mouth and spoke the last and final name.

"Kenpachi."

Said captain smirked broadly, showing off sharp white teeth, and the others looked on in utter disbelief as the large man stomped forward in a superior matter.

"Look here." Ichigo started as he stared up at the shinigami towering over him. "I like you but I don't like, like you…" At Kenpachi's confused expression, the teen tried to clarify. "Meaning, you're a good fighter and I enjoy your company when you're not being a complete asshole. But I can't exactly see myself having a relationship with you yet." He explained, causing a frown to appear on the other's scarred face. Kenpachi grunted in understanding before taking the rose and walking away.

Just as he returned to his spot, Rukia came rushing through the door.

"Are you guys done yet?" She asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Yeah, Ichigo just finished." Yoruichi answered as she stood up straight, moving herself from the wall.

"Wait!" It was Ikkaku who spoke and he had a disappointed, but determined look on his face. "Can't you at least tell us why we weren't allowed to stay?" He asked, his eyes staring right into Ichigo's.

The teen sighed and nodded slowly, making everyone automatically shift back to where they were before… (except Stark, who was still asleep and Rukia remained near the door.)

"Aizen, you obviously know why I didn't say your name, so I won't even waste my breath on you." Ichigo growled and said king of Hueco Mundo merely gazed coolly at the angry teen. "Ishida, You're a good friend, but that's all you'll ever be to me." Ichigo sighed, making the Quincy look down at the ground dejectedly. "And besides, you're a little too fruity for my taste." The teen added as an afterthought, causing the other to bristle with suppressed rage. "Ikkaku, you need to go back to Yumichika. You two make a good couple, and I really don't want to get between that." Said bald shinigami winced in slight guilt and averted his gaze.

The room was quiet until Rukia started shouting again. "Okay! Now that that's over! Yoruichi and Matsumoto will escort you three out of the mansion and if the rest of you will follow me, I'll show you to your new rooms." With that said she turned on her heel and walked out the door.

After a minute, Ichigo found himself in the room alone, and now that he was able to think clearly in the quiet, he wondered to himself if he'd made the right choices.

Aizen found himself getting angrier and angrier with each step he took, and a sudden urge to just take the berry and escape to Hueco Mundo sounded very appealing to him at the moment.

Just as he was about to turn back around in blind rage, he was stopped by a strong hand on his shoulder. He snapped his head to the side and his dark eyes caught sight of a playful smirk and unruly blond hair hidden beneath a green and white striped hat.

"What do you want…?" Aizen questioned, sounding much calmer than he actually felt.

The mischievous blond chuckled knowingly and began ushering him through another hallway, away from the disappearing forms of Ishida, Ikkaku, Yoruichi and Matsumoto.

"I have a little idea that I was hoping you could help me with." Urahara explained, a playful gleam in his eyes, and Aizen couldn't help but feel curious.

"This plan might help you get another shot with Ichigo if you really want." Kisuke urged on, his smile growing wider.

Aizen huffed out a breath and shrugged—How could he say no?


	11. Ch5: Let The Games Begin

**Author's Note:** Ha ha… ha… ha… Sorry for not updating on this sooner… and I know this chapter is a little on the short side, but the next one shall be EPIC! :'D

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_**++-*-~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~-*-++**_

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_~~ Chapter 5: Let the Game Begin! ~~_

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"Fuck you!"

"No, Fuck YOU!"

"Wanna say tha' to my face ya pansy!"

"I just did! Can't you tell that I'm standing right in front of you! Are you blind AND stupid!"

"DON'T CALL ME STUPID, YOU ASSWIPE!"

"WHY ARE YOU BRINGING MY ASS INTO THIS!"

Byakuya was usually very good at keeping his patience, and he never, EVER, let little things like petty arguments get to him… But he was finding it rather difficult to ignore the pointless yelling that could be heard throughout the _whole_ fucking **mansion**! And the voices seemed to be getting louder and louder with each insult that was yelled… which was quite often.

Sighing, the captain swept his dark eyes to his new roommate, Renji Abarai, and he could tell that the yelling was also getting to the redhead.

"Argh…!" Said lieutenant groaned in frustration, and he was about ready to go next door to shut up the two bickering hollows, but both shinigami froze when everything suddenly went quiet. "FINALLY!" Renji shouted victoriously, as if he'd been the one to finally bring forth the peace and quiet.

It was short-lived though, because next thing they knew, a cacophony of crashing and banging replaced the shouting.

"That's _it_!" Byakuya shouted as he stood, finally loosing his temper.

Renji watched in awe as his captain stomped out the door and into the hallway, only to come to stop at their neighbor's room, which looked like it had seen better days.

The respected Kuchiki didn't even bother to knock (it's not like the occupants in the room would hear his knocking anyway), and instead took his foot and kicked it off its hinges. The door went flying inward and came crashing on top of a certain white hollow's head.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Byakuya shouted, his face red with anger.

Grimmjow blinked and was silent as he eyed this very uncharacteristic side of the shinigami.

"Psst, Whitey." He whispered urgently towards the fallen hollow without taking his blue eyes off the brunette.

"_What?_" Shirosaki hissed back as he finally crawled out from beneath the door.

"We really _do_ bring out the worst in people…" He snickered, making Shiro smile before looking back at his attacker.

"Yea, yea, Bya-man! We'll keep it down now!" The hollow waved his pale hand absently as he began digging through his closet full of clothes, as if he hadn't just been fighting with Grimmjow or Byakuya.

The shinigami, who had been expecting a big fight, was at a loss and didn't know what to do when he was being completely ignored.

'_That's really all it took to shut them up…?_'

"Oi, Whitey. There any shampoo ova there? Imma go take a shower." Grimmjow explained as he began taking off his clothes.

Byakuya spluttered in shock and quickly marched back to his room before he was blinded by the espada's nakedness.

(With Stark)

The primera Espada sighed in relief when the noise from across the hall finally ceased and he then looked over to his roommate, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"Is Grimmjow always like that…?" The little captain asked, an incredulous look marring his usually scowling face.

Stark smirked lightly and stretched across his very comfy new bed before answering.

"Well… He's not always _this_ bad. Ulquiorra usually knocks him out before he gets too out of control. And I think he's just very excited about not being eliminated yesterday." He drawled casually, as if he was talking about the weather.

Toshiro nodded in understanding. He had been a little shocked himself when he heard Ichigo say his name.

"I know I'm not going to last very long in this… _competition_ but it's nice to know that Ichigo at least likes me." The captain sighed and he began picking through the clothes Matsumoto had packed for him.

Stark opened one of his eyes to look at the smaller male as if he was sizing up an enemy.

"You have a better chance than Shinji at least." He smirked a little when the other snorted a laugh.

"True. That blond idiot doesn't understand the meaning of personal space."

(With Shinji)

"…"

The vizard looked around his new room with narrowed eyes.

Then he fell to his knees dramatically and shouted to the heavens, "WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A ROOMMATE!"

(With Chad and Nova)

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"….."

"…..."

"…..."

((Try to guess who is who O_O))

Ichigo forced himself to remain calm as Rukia and Yoruichi dragged him down some hallways that were all the way on the other side of the mansion from the bachelors.

"Now, Ichi, we're about to show you the surveillance room." Rukia explained once they stopped at the double doors—which looked a lot like the doors to the waiting room from yesterday.

Ichigo's only reaction to knowing that they even _had_ a surveillance room was the slight irate twitch of an eyebrow.

Yoruichi smirked slightly at that.

"Well, since you're so excited, let's get started!" She exclaimed excitedly before quickly shoving Ichigo into the room.

The teen stumbled a bit in the dark room and he was a little confused when he saw many different televisions showing all the different Bachelor's rooms.

As he walked closer, he noticed someone sitting in font of the system. And that someone had bright pink hair and glasses.

"Aporro…?"

Said Espada swiveled around in his rolly chair to stare at the teen with a calculating gaze that was much too similar to Uryuu's.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, _Ichigo._"

The teen's skin crawled uncomfortably at the way his name rolled off the computer geek's tongue.

"Yea… So… What's going on?" Ichigo tried to change the subject while gesturing towards the multiple screens.

"Ah yes. Well. Rukia asked me to put up some cameras so she could keep an eye on everyone, so I took the liberty of putting one in every room—except the bathrooms of course." Szayel explained and Ichigo hummed softly as he leaned in and took a close look at each large screen.

On one of them showed Kenpachi and Shuuhei playing some sort of card game to pass the time. The next one showed Stark fast asleep on his bed (typical) and Toshiro folding up his human clothes. Ichigo tilted his head and turned to the next monitor. He didn't truly comprehend what he was seeing at first, but after a second he slapped his hands over his eyes and sunk to the floor with a shout.

"Oh-Mi-GAWD! WHY IS HE NAKED!" He cried when he felt a blush consume his whole face.

Szayel chuckled softly at the reaction.

"Hey, at least you know that his hair color is natural."

"LALALALALALALALA!" Ichigo shouted as he covered his ears childishly. He whimpered as the picture was now burned into his brain and the blush refused to go away. "I'm out of here! Good luck with that!" He shouted (more like squeaked) before bolting out of the room.

"Whoa there!" Yoruichi breathed as Ichigo ran right into her. Not knowing what else to do, the teen clung to the woman and pressed his face against her shoulder.

"I refuse to see any of them ever again. I quit! Don't make me go back thereeee!" He whined as Rukia tried to pry him off of the purple-haired shinigami—who didn't really seem to mind.

"That's too bad, because the first game is about to start in another ten minutes, and you need to be there to watch!" Rukia grumbled when she finally pried one of his arms away.

"NO!" He snapped stubbornly, still using that child-like tone.

Yoruichi's mother-like instincts seemed to kick in, and she swept the poor ten up into her arms, cradling him like a defenseless infant.

"Don't worry, Ichi~ you don't have to go see those big bad brutes~ you can always stay here with me, or we can go take a nice hot bath at the spa to help you relax."

Ichigo's eyes widened with pure horror and he was out of her arms and down the hall in the blink of an eye.

"CHILD MOLESTER!" He screeched.

Rukia blinked and looked over to where Ichigo had just been a moment ago before noticing the evil smirk on the other woman's face.

"Gets him _every_ time."

Ichigo skidded to a halt when he went by a large open doorway that led to the kitchen. Taking a few steps backwards, he quickly peeked into the room, only to find it completely empty. He lifted his nose and took a sniff, nearly drooling when he smelt something delicious cooking.

It smelt suspiciously like chocolate cake.

(If he went crazy over those small chocolates that Shuuhei got him, then imagine how much he'll love a _cake_!)

Following his nose, Ichigo found his prize waiting for him on a counter top right next to the oven.

"Oh gawd, it's still warm~!" He sighed dreamily and was about to dig in—barehanded and all—but he was too distracted to notice a pair of glove clad hands come out from behind him before it was too late.

Ichigo tried to yell and fight back, but his whole body went limp when something solidly hit the pressure point at the back of his neck, right below his head.

"Bastard…" He grumbled before passing out.

"Where do you think he is…?" Matsumoto asked as she watched Rukia pace back and forth worriedly.

"I don't know!" The young Kuchiki spazzed and began gnawing at her nails nervously.

"I'm sure he'll show up. I'll have Aporro keep an eye out for him, but you should start the game now, before the bachelors get too antsy and destroy something." Yoruichi explained in a calm voice as she rubbed the frazzled woman's arms soothingly.

"You're right…" Excitement suddenly replaced her scared look and she hurried over to the small microphone that was hooked up to the speakers all around the place.

Just before she could even take a breath, everyone froze when someone else's voice took over the speakers.

"::~_**Beep click~ **_HELLOOOOO EVERYONEEEEE~::"

Yoruichi narrowed her golden eyes suspiciously when she immediately recognized the voice to be Urahara's.

"::Attention please Mr. Bachelors, I have some good and bad news for you!::"

All the bachelors immediately stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

"::Today you're all going to be playing a special game! The good news is, that the winner of this game will get to go on a short date with our luscious Bachelorette!::"

Most of the contestants jumped to their feet eagerly, ready to start right that instant.

"::Bad news is that I hid the berry somewhere. Your job in this game is to find him first. He's hidden somewhere on this property, whether it's inside or out in the gardens… well you'll just have to find out for yourselves. Of course, it won't be easy! So good luck, and let the games begin!_** ~Beep Click~**_::"

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TBC~

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_::IMPORTANT::_ OKAY! So here's the deal! You can Vote one (+) _now_ on THIS chapter, and these votes will go to which Bachelor you want to win the date with Ichigo.

_Grimmjow: _-looks at the berry-

_Ichigo_: -blushes and looks away-

_Grimmjow:_ -grins- you know you liked seeing me naked~

_Ichigo:_ Shuddup! –blushes more-


	12. Ch6: Urahara's Plan Unleashed

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_**++-*-~~STRAWBERRY OF LOVE~~-*-++**_

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_~~ Chapter 6: Urahara's Plan Unleashed! ~~_

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Urahara blinked and fluttered the ever present fan in front of his face as he stared at the tied up berry lying delicately before him. Said berry was looking at him with the most murderous glare he'd ever seen.

"Surely you're not _that_ upset with me." Kisuke sighed as he sat down beside the teen, who shifted away from him cautiously.

"I didn't even get any cake…" Ichigo grumbled, making the shopkeeper chuckle in delight.

"You are very amusing."

The teen narrowed his eyes at the man, but ignored him in favor of trying to get out of his bindings. However… he only succeeded in wiggling around awkwardly.

"What the hell _are _these!" He snarled while looking down at the steel-like ropes that held his hands behind his back and pinned his legs together.

"Oh, those are just some Reiatsu-sapping ropes I made from Sekkiseki." Kisuke explained easily, as if his invention was a common-everyday thing. When he glanced over his fan to see Ichigo's dubious expression, he chuckled. "Sekkiseki, my darling novice, is the substance that was used to make the great wall around Seireitei. You should've remembered this when Kukaku and Yoruichi explained it to you." He scolded the boy playfully and then punished him by stuffing a lifesavers candy up his nose.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he shouted with unsuppressed rage as he tried to blow the thing out of his nose.

"You… Bastard!"

Kisuke giggled happily as the teen thrashed around, loving that Kurosaki was completely helpless at the moment.

"Urahara."

Said blond sat up straight and crossed his legs together before turning to peer over his shoulder.

"Yes, Sosuke?" He asked while gazing up at the brunette.

"… When can I begin?" Aizen gritted out, almost hissing in frustration from even having to ask **permission **to do _anything_. He was a god for goodness sake.

Urahara waved him off carelessly.

"Oh yea sure, you can begin whenever you're ready."

Aizen narrowed his eyes at the blonde and thought about just chopping his head off and taking Ichigo back with him to Hueco Mundo… But, knowing Kisuke, he's already predicted that Aizen would do that.

The frustrated lord turned on his heel and stomped his way out of the secret basement (Which Urahara had built under the mansion out of sheer boredom) just as Ichigo began cursing again.

"Dammit you old pervert! Let me go! You're worse than Yoruichi!"

* * *

Shinji skipped around the hallways with a huge, confident grin on his face.

The game had just begun and he was already positive that he would win.

Every once in a while he would stop to peek inside the rooms he past, only to find them empty or already being searched by the other Bachelors.

"Come out, come out wherever you are, my cute berry-chan~!" Shinji called out as he stopped at another door, but his expression fell when he only saw Byakuya Kuchiki.

The Noble was sitting calmly at a table in his room, casually sipping tea.

Shinji tilted his head curiously at that.

"Oi! Why 'aint you looking for Ichigo like the rest of us?" He asked before sitting down directly across from the quiet captain.

Byakuya peeked one dark eye open to see who had spoken before closing it once more. "I am trying to concentrate my reiatsu throughout the mansion so I can pinpoint his location. With his amount of untamed energy, it should be simple, but I find myself stumped… It's as if he just disappeared." He explained, though if you were to ask _why_ he was sharing such useful information with an enemy bachelor… well… he wasn't really quite sure.

Shinji blinked owlishly and smacked himself in the forehead for not thinking of doing that sooner. Closing his eyes, he also tried to search for Ichigo's Reiatsu… But found nothing.

"You're right… Maybe his power is being concealed?" Shinji guessed thoughtfully, dropping the stupid act for a moment.

The Kuchiki eyed him curiously before taking another sip of his tea.

"I wouldn't put it past Urahara… he does tend to think ahead." Sighing, Byakuya stood up and walked towards the door. "And that's what makes him so obnoxious…" He sniffed arrogantly before returning to the problem at hand. "Might as well look outside first, not as many rooms to search…" And with that said, he shunpo'd away.

Shinji blinked at the spot where the shinigami had just been before quickly jumping up and chasing after him.

* * *

Stark slowly sat up in his bed and stared around the room, his eyelids drooping because he had just woken up from his short nap.

"Gotta look for Ichigo…" He mumbled to himself while stretching out his long arms in a yawn. Turning around, he scratched at his goatee absently as he lifted up the pillow he had just been sleeping on. "Not here…" He announced to no one in particular, and then he raised the other pillow, finding it also empty.

"I guess Ichi's not around…" He sighed. Then with another yawn, he was back to napping.

Or he _was_ going to go to sleep again, but he thought better of it when he heard crashing and cursing from across the hall.

If he didn't hurry, then someone else was going to get to go on a date with Ichigo.

Sighing again, he sonido'ed out of the room while trying to shake off the last bit of drowsiness that clung to him like a stubborn bur.

* * *

"I don't think he's here, Yachiru…" Kenpachi grumbled while crossing his arms.

"Well of course he's not, silly!" The pink-haired child giggled while looking around, only to find the rooftop completely deserted.

"Nel thinks we should check in d'ose bushes over d'ere!" Nel gurgled in that childish voice of hers while pointing down to the gardens below.

Kenpachi nodded and jumped down to land on the ground about four stories below. The ground shook slightly under his weight, but he didn't stumble or fall.

"Mmm… Maybe we should check over there firstest, Kenny!" Yachiru pointed in another opposite direction, making Kenpachi narrow his eyes.

"Are you sure…?"

Both girls smacked their foreheads against his temples for even asking such a stupid question.

* * *

Nova brushed away some of his crimson bangs as he tried to figure out where Ichigo could possibly be.

He's lived with Kisuke long enough to know how the lunatic's mind worked, and so he knew that he wouldn't just hide Ichigo in any old room—hence the reason why he was in the library.

Nova tugged at his sleeves absently as he weaved around the many, _many_ bookshelves.

'_He probably has a bunch of tricks up his sleeve… That crazy man would do anything to make sure we work extra hard for Ichigo. Urahara sees Ichigo as family and he won't let just _any_one take him._'

Biting at his bottom lip nervously, the quiet modsoul trailed his hand across the walls, making sure there weren't any trick buttons or loose books which might open up a secret passageway.

(He'd seen Urahara watching those cheesey, horror movies and he wouldn't doubt it if Urahara got a few ideas from them).

As if the mansion had been reading his thoughts—_just_ as his fingers brushed against a certain brick on the wall—the ground began to quake gently beneath his feet. Nova shook his head as if to say 'See? What'd I tell you?'

Building up the courage, the modsoul narrowed his eyes in determination and pressed the brick firmly, making it slide inward. The ground shook again and Nova quickly jumped back as a hole suddenly dropped out beneath his feet.

'_A trap door? How unoriginal…'_

Tugging on his hoodie nervously, Nova looked around to make sure no one was around before peering down into the darkness.

'_Stairs… well. Here goes nothing I guess.'_

_

* * *

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"I'm telling ya—Ichigo won't go for it!" The echoic voice of Shirosaki shouted.

"'Course he would! He's probably overdue fer a good massage anyway, yea?" Grimmjow argued right back, smirk still in place. His pale pal was about to yell at him again, but Shirosaki thought better of it when he realized that arguing with the Sexta was like arguing with a damn pitbull.

But he wasn't about to let Grimmjow get his way.

"Well… You won't be able to give him one anyway, since I'm gonna be the one to find him first. But thanks for the idea." Pale lips pulled up into a smirk of their own when deep blue eyes narrowed into a glare.

"You wouldn't da—"

"Oh yea," Shiro interrupted him, "Even if you do win this stupid game—which I doubt—I just want you to know that you'd better get used to having me around." Grimmjow's light blue brows furrowed together in confusion at that, but before he could ask, Shirosaki already started answering, "Don't forget that I'm a part of Ichigo. I'm inside his head 24/7. I hear and see everything that he does. So every time—and I mean _every_ time—you guys start to get a little feisty… just remember that I will be there to break it up." He didn't clarify what exactly he would do, because he knew Grimmjow's imagination would think up the worst possible scenario.

What surprised him though was that the arrancar actually went silent for a while.

Shirosaki knew that he should've probably been relieved, but then again… a quiet Grimmjow was kinda scary, because you never really knew what to expect next.

"Watermelons…"

_See_?

Golden eyes widened and then blinked in disbelief. "What?"

Grimmjow paused in his steps and gave him a bored look. "I'm in da mood for some watermelon. Maybe even some o' those melon candies." He explained with a shrug and continued walking, his sandals clacking loudly against the wooden floor.

"But—… didn't you hear me before?" Shirosaki inquired dubiously, not sure if Grimmjow heard him or if he was even paying attention.

"Well yea… 'Course I did. M'not deaf ya damn hollow." Grimmjow grumbled and he rolled his eyes when Shirosaki kept giving him that questioning look. "I 'aint scared o' ya. If ya wanna be a perv and pop in wheneva me an' Ichi start kissin' and shit, then go ahead. I'll fight fer Ichi every time—and I mean _every_ time." He finished, mocking Shirosaki with that last sentence.

The hollow was rendered silent after that. What surprised Grimmjow though was the look of slight respect he received. The arrancar was about to ask what the look was for, but Shiro made him stop with a raise of his hand. "Do you hear that…?" He looked over his shoulder when he heard it again—a soft rumbling sound.

"Yea…" Grimmjow nodded and he quickly looked around, but the only place that was close to them was the library. "Ya don't think…" He started and glanced over at Shirosaki, their eyes meeting.

"Let's go take a look."

Grimmjow was the first to move forward. Once inside, he looked around and continued walking in a random direction. He had assumed that Shirosaki was following him, so it took a few minutes for him to realize that he was completely alone.

"Uhh… Oi! Chalk-face! Where'd ya run off to?" He shouted, uncaring that he was in a damn library. After a couple seconds of silence, Grimmjow just shrugged. "Whatever, I'll find Ichi first anyway." He growled, determination shining in his eyes.

He quickly turned a corner and went to quicken his pace. A small shout escaped his throat though when his next step met nothing but air. Next thing he knew, he was tumbling down a flight of stairs. He didn't come to a stop for about a minute and he groaned in pain as he peeled his face from the ground. Once he was back up, he quickly felt around his hollow mask for any cracks, sighing in relief when he felt none.

To Grimmjow, having a crack in your mask was a sign of carelessness.

"Where the _fuck_ am I…?" He growled, his deep blue eyes glaring holes into the accursed stairway.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya, Hisagi, and Renji were sitting on the porch outside (It had comfy chairs surrounding the Olympic sized pool). They'd run into each other a few minutes ago and were now contemplating what to do next.

"You think maybe Urahara and Ichigo aren't even here? What if he took Ichigo back home or something?" Renji suggested.

Hisagi leaned back in his chair with a sigh before answering, "I wouldn't put it past Kisuke to do something like that. He'd probably find it hilarious that we're all running around in circles looking for Ichigo." Renji nodded at that.

"No," Hitsugaya argued, "I agree that Urahara has a strange sense of humor, but he wouldn't just leave here with Ichigo. He probably built a special place for them to hide."

All three shinigami looked at each other questioningly, and then Shuuhei and Hitsugaya both gazed at Renji.

"What…?" The redhead spluttered. "You really think I'd know anything?"

"Well, you've spent a lot more time with Urhahara then us—so you've got to know _something_." Hisagi interrogated. His dark bangs brushed against his forehead as he leaned forward, dark eyes narrowing suspiciously. Renji growled dangerously.

"I don't know nothin'!" He snapped and his shoulders rose as if he was getting ready to sprint.

Hitsugaya looked as calm and collected as usual. "Renji… saying you 'Don't know nothing' means you _do_ know something. Be careful with double negatives."

"What the hell are—" Renji was cut off when a loud but familiar scream reverberated throughout the whole mansion.

That's when the unexpected happened.

An orange blur sped right out the back door and knocked Renji right out of his chair. Crimson eyes blinked and they looked up into wide chocolate-brown eyes.

"Ichigo?" All three shinigami exclaimed and before Renji could wrap his arms around him, Ichigo was up and dashing away.

"Shit!" Hisagi exclaimed and he quickly shunpo'd in front of Ichigo before he could escape, then Renji took that chance to pounce.

"We finally found you." Hitsugaya grumbled, but his whole body froze when Ichigo sent him a murderous glare. The captain had witnessed the berry's glare before (everyone has) but he'd never thought in a million years that he'd be on the receiving end of one.

"FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME! I 'AINT ICHIGO!" The orange-haired teen screeched as he thrashed around in Renji's arms.

All three shinigami gave him incredulous looks, but that was broken when Shinji came sprinting out.

"HEY HEY! Hands off! I found him first!" And to prove his point, the blonde jumped over and kicked Renji right in the face, forcing the redhead to relieve his grip on Ichigo. Before the carrot-top could start running again, Shinji pounced and gave him a big, wet, kiss.

Hitsugaya slapped his own forehead at the blonde's idiocy while Shuuhei and Renji were busy trying to pry them apart, but Shinji's hold was unyielding. Just as Shuuhei was about to pull out his zanpakuto another orange blur sped towards them, followed closely by Byakuya and Stark.

"Leave me the hell alone!" The other orange-headed teen shouted over his shoulder. "I don't know why you guys keep calling me Ichigo! I'm—" He wasn't watching where he was going and wound up falling atop Shinji, squashing the blonde between himself and the other Ichigo look alike.

"I'm in heaven~" Shinji squealed, his face turning bright red and Hitsugaya wouldn't be surprised if his eyes started forming hearts.

"What's going on?" Byakuya demanded as soon as he and Stark came closer, both men raising a brow curiously.

"We're not really sure…" Renji answered while scratching his chin in thought.

"Which one of you is the real Ichigo Kurosaki." Stark questioned and he had to fight back a yawn as he helped both of them up—since Shinji had gone unconscious from pure bliss.

"Like I said before—I 'aint Ichigo." Carrot-top #1 grumbled while dusting off his jeans.

Carrot-top #2 looked slightly scared when everyone's eyes snapped towards him. "Well I'm not Ichigo either!" He squeaked, and it was obvious to everyone that he was right, since the real Ichigo wouldn't be such a scaredy-cat.

"Then who _are_ you guys?" Hisagi asked the obvious.

Both carrot-tops looked to each other and shrugged. #2 spoke up first.

"I'm Kon. This is Ichigo's real body, but I have no idea where he actually is."

"And I'm Shiro…" #1 grumbled, letting his murderous aura engulf the other bachelors.

"Why do you look like Ichigo then?" Byakuya snipped, his voice cold and accusing.

_Pop_!

All eyes turned to where Renji used to be, only to find _another_ carrot-top.

"What the fuck!" The once redhead, but now orange-headed, shinigami yelled as he dug his fingers through what should be Ichigo's cropped hair. He could no longer feel his long, soft, crimson locks.

"Does that answer your question?" Shirosaki growled to the Kuchiki heir as he gestured towards the newly transformed Renji who was having a panic attack.

_Pop_!

Now it was Hitsugaya's turn.

But since he was so short, he wound up turning into a mini-version of Ichigo—Or what could only be described as 'chibi'. Toshiro's auburn eyes widened and he stared down at his tanned hands, completely speechless.

"What's going on…?" Kon squeaked while taking a few cautious steps back. Not that he had anything to really fear though, since he was already in Ichigo's body.

_Pop Pop Pop Pop_

Now they all looked like Ichigo.

And Kenpachi just had to choose that exact moment to show up.

* * *

Grimmjow gnashed his teeth together in frustration as he continued down the dark and dreary hallway. This was turning out to be a complete waste of time.

"What if they already found 'im?" He grumbled to himself while his fingers scraped against the wall beside him, leading him forward through the dark. _'I'd really hate ta see Ichi go on a date wit some scumbag. If I don't find 'im then someone like Stark has ta. He'd be too lazy ta try and molest Ichi.'_ A big grin spread across Grimmjow's face at that thought, but then it fell when he ran (walked) right into something. A threatening growl tore from his throat and he pressed both hands against the barrier before him.

"This 'ad better not be a fuckin' dead-end!" He snarled and he slammed his fist against the supposed wall. As soon as he hit it, the thing rattled loudly, but didn't budge. He nearly sighed in relief and his tense shoulders relaxed only slightly when he realized that it was a door. Feeling around blindly, he found the doorknob and quickly turned it.

Grimmjow had to squeeze his eyes shut and cover them with his arm as bright light suddenly engulfed him and the whole hallway.

"Well, Well, Well. Looks like we have another visitor!"

The blunette hissed when he recognized that voice from the speakers before. Blinking slowly to adjust to the light, Grimmjow made his way inside the room and looked around.

The place was pretty much the size of a large living room, and it didn't have much furniture. Just a couch, table (with two cups of tea sitting atop it), and a rug.

Sitting on the couch, and looking rather comfortable, was none other than Urahara Kisuke, and lying on the rug was an unconscious Nova along with a tied up Ichigo. Grimmjow quirked a brow and smirked at that.

"Ya seem a lil' uncomfortable there dandelion." He snickered at the glare he received and Ichigo started grumbling something underneath his breath. It sounded very similar to 'fuck you, you walking crayon'.

Amused cobalt eyes switched to Urahara, who was now sipping at his tea. "So what happened ta 'im?" He asked while pointing to the knocked-out modsoul. The mysterious shopkeeper shrugged, but the eerie glint in his eyes told Grimmjow otherwise.

"He was being too eager." Was the only answer he received.

"Whatever. Did he win since he got 'ere first?" Grimmjow asked while fidgeting a little. He wanted to know before anyone else found this place and tried to take Ichigo away.

Kisuke noticed the sexta's nervous shifting and chuckled.

"Come sit. No one else should be down here anytime soon. I've got Aizen keeping them busy up there." He explained, and the blunette narrowed his eyes at the man suspiciously, but took a seat nonetheless.

Ichigo sighed and tried to go back to sleep so he wouldn't have to listen to the damned man blabber on about this and that, but his interest was instantly piqued when Grimmjow began laughing. Ichigo raised his head to notice that they were talking about Nova. Oh… So Kisuke told him how Nova had run inside and, blinded by the light, tripped on the rug. He then bashed his head on the table—hence the reason why he was knocked out cold.

"So yes Grimmjow. You are the winner. You get to go on a date with the bachlorette." Urahara quipped with a wide grin on his face. Said blunette's smirk sent Ichigo into a fit of shivers and the berry couldn't help but scowl when their eyes locked. He hated feeling so defenseless, and Kisuke's sekisekishit wasn't helping one bit.

"Ya hear tha', Ichi? We're gonna 'ave a lota fun tomorrow."

~_TBC_~

_**IMPORTANT**__- I'll be starting over the votes again to see which Bachelors gets the next date. No one is allowed two dates in a row. So I'm sorry but Grimmjow will have to sit out the next game. I know how much everyone loves Grimmjow (tust me... i do... 'cause i love him too) But I want the other Bachelors to have a chance too._

**Small FYI: This chapter is Unbeta'd for now. I accidentally sent this to my Beta's old E-mail, so she just recently got it. I'll put up the Beta'd version once it's finished.**

Holy CRAP it's been a while  
I can't apologize enough for the wait  
Sorry you guys  
Meh... i probably lost a lot of readers since it's been so long  
lmao  
Oh well, i'd like to thank those of you that are still hanging in there 3  
love you guys!

Anyway~~

These were the Tally's

Stark: 8

Hitsugaya: 6

Nova: 2

Chad: 0

Byakuya: 2

Renji: 3

Shirosaki: 11

Grimmjow: 30

Kenpachi: -2 (I specifically said no negatives, but I couldn't help but laugh at how much hatred Kenny was getting. Poor guy…)

Shuuhei: 1

Shinji: 0


End file.
